Honeworts and Bay Flowers
Summary: Kagura's thoughts about Okita Mitsuba and how jealousy brings out the worst in people and night rabbits alike.
When Kagura first met Mitsuba, it was in a middle of a smackdown. She was looking all over for her no good employer when she saw him eating parfaits with Sadist of all people(how dare he when she's out there starving to death)! As expected, she bashed inside with the grace of a rhino in a tutu and began beating the living shit out of Gintoki who wasn't even able to explain since he's too busy spitting out flames like some discount Natsu.
A tinkling laugh froze her completely however. The sound so achingly familiar that Kagura had to blink the vermillion and stark white that flashed momentarily in her vision.
Mitsuba.
Its pretty, soft, a painfully relaxing name... It sounds like Kouka and she cant help but stare and stare and stare-
Gintoki introduced her then, picking out shards from his sluggishly bleeding face and ruffling up her hair.
This is Kagura, a no good brat of mine and Sofa's playmate-
She roared and blatantly denies being sadist's anything despite the warm feeling in her chest when Gintoki finally claimed her as his kid.
It's been a while since she's been someone's-
Mitsuba laughed again and both her and the sadist were way too affected since they both managed to clamped down the urge to throttle one another and merely settled on crushing the other's toes discreetly under the table.
Mitsuba's my sister.
And if Kagura wasn't furious at Sougo before, she's absolutely pissed right now.
Because why was he loved by someone as beautiful and caring and great and everything that Kamui was not-as Mitsuba? As little as she knows, Kagura's pretty much sure she'd been a good kid(way better than super sadists that's for sure) and yes, she likes to eat other people's food but is it a Yato thing for siblings to try to kill each other? What did Sougo do to get his sister to smile at him as if he's her only treasure and it hurts and she's jealous and no she's not gripping Gintoki's hand under the table-
Mitsuba asked to be shown around Edo and she smiled at Kagura with the radiance of a thousand suns(that she almost took out her umbrella) and asked her if she'd like to come along cause it's been a while since she'd been with the same sex and she's cute and she's Sou-chan's friend.
Kagura had never said yes so fast.
The rest of the day was pure bliss. She daydreamed all day, ignoring the other two members of their four way party unless there is something to be paid(which she might or might not have taken advantage of) and kept on dragging Mit-chan gently by her wrist all over the place laughing all the way. Deep down, Kagura pretended. Pretended that Mitsuba were hers. Pretended that Kouka was there. She kept on pretending until her tongue slipped-
Look at this Mami, aint this pret-
Kagura felt as if she was drowned and then burned.
The silence that followed after her statement was so damn thick that she swore she can claw it apart like how her heart seems to unravel at the edges. Mitsuba was suddenly distracted by Sougo with a stupidly cute plushie and she took the chance to back pedal until she bumped into a familiar body that chases away her nightmares and her back relaxed from how taut its has been.
She suddenly felt much more smaller then. It's quite funny how a girl who lives her life so big became this pathetic lump of quivering flesh. Nonetheless, big, rough, warm hands slowly pulled her together because she's spilling all over the place and she almost laughed at how Gintoki easily calms her down despite the water flowing down their bloodstreams.
Blood is thicker than water but water is purer.
The trip continued as if nothing happened but she remained glued to Gintoki's side where it was safe. She won't mistake him and call him papi because there's no label that fits Gintoki and he had given her way more than baldy had ever given her.
She will never mix papi and Gin-chan ever.
But Mitsuba apparently inherited Sougo's affinity to always catch Kagura off guard because she beckoned the meek rabbit over to share her umbrella since the sun is making her dizzy. Sougo had to physically threaten her before she fell back in step with Mitsuba, her parasol tilted more towards the woman than her, head and eyes looking at anywhere but the soft and loving lady that reminds her too much of Kouka that it's almost enough to bring her to her knees.
For someone as frail looking as Mitsuba, she sure as hell had a tight grip, her pale fingers taking her wrist and linking their arms together like what she usually does with Soyo-chan.
The sun is way too hot Kagura-chan, let me lean on you a little bit okay?
It was a cloudy day.
They continued their walk but this time, it was Mitsuba's turn to chat and her tales of mini Sou-chan was more than enough to bring Kagura's spirits back. Loud, rambunctious laughter that doesn't suit a girl but painfully screams Kagura began bubbling out of her lips and she kept laughing even if it wasn't funny anymore since everything is better than the awkward silence she created earlier.
The sun went down but the gentle grip by the crook of her arm remained.
Kagura kept on biting her tongue, trying her damnest to not repeat her blunder.
They stopped in front of a big house, way bigger than usual, arms heavy with their hauls. Kagura automatically bee-lined towards Gintoki the moment Mitsuba let her go to hug her brother goodbye, fingers tugging at her bunny hat.
The atmosphere suddenly buzzed with tension but unlike before, this one was a tad bit more hostile and a shit ton sharper.
He's a heartless ass
The incredulous look she tossed Sougo for speaking like that to his sister was almost as sharp as his tone but she held her urges to drop kick his sadistic ass mainly to not damage her reputation towards Mitsuba.
Gintoki and Mitsuba conversed, Kagura silently listening behind her guardian and thinking countless of ways to pummel Sougo the next time they meet. Her and Gintoki then learnt something brief about the Shinsengumi and Sougo, Mitsuba relaying how Kondo somehow drew the mini sadist out of his shell and how he taught him everything he knows.
Kagura's jealousy towards the now absent police officer grew more intense. When he was training with Kondo and Hijikata and people that didn't leave him, she was alone on a planet that always rains, caring for a sick mother that struggles more with smiling rather than breathing. When he was too busy feeling jealous because he thinks Hijikata was taking Kondo and Mitsuba away, she was alone on a planet that always rains, burying a week old corpse because she refused to accept that her mami left and only the scent of putrid rotting flesh forced her to finally accept the facts.
Kagura never truly hated Sougo until now.
A flash of car headlights ripped Kagura away from her dark thoughts and she smelt the distinct scent of mayo and nicotine. She was about to greet the Shinsengumi's resident mayora when a scene she had seen so many times to last her a life time or two played itself literally in front of her.
Kagura didn't know that the voice screaming when Mitsuba fell were hers.
Close your eyes and count to seven, when you open them you'll be in heaven.
Kagura finds it funny that despite blinking way too many times than necessary, her eyes remained oh so dry or a lil bit more wet. She was having a bit of trouble breathing steadily too, something was lodged in her throat and she kept on clearing it to the point that it almost felt raw.
What are you doing with Mitsuba-san anyways?
What's with the afro? Was all she can think of, stubbornly ignoring the prone body that looks very familiar-than what she's comfortable with-settled just on the other side of the shoji door.
If Gintoki notices how weird she'd been acting ever since her meeting with Mistuba, he's damn good at showing otherwise. The permed man didn't ask but his surprising constant support and tolerance with her sudden fascination with literally sticking to his side was more than enough to ease the pain the memories brought up.
He answered in his usual lacking manner, munching steadily on some complimentary biscuits. He casually poked her on the cheek with one and she graciously accepted the treat, munching at it in a distracted manner while her blue eyes dimmed down with what he can only recognize as mixed melancholy and borderline PTSD.
First the coughing, then the blood, then the silence, then the cold, then the smell, then the rottin-
Kagura bolted away from her position and sucked in a huge gulp of air and stupid Yamazaki thought she choked on her biscuit. Gintoki clicked his tongue at her and told her to stop being such a glutton, voice rough and dead as ever betraying the reassuring weight of his hand gently rubbing her on the back.
It's fine, you're fine.
Hijikata then decided to make his presence known by repeating Yamazaki's question and Kagura easily recognized his posture. Too straight to be nonchalant and too relaxed to be natural.
She knows a denial-heavy person when she sees one.
Are you an another Kamui too Mayora?
Gintoki then began pushing the vice captain's buttons and she inwardly snorted out how eager the nicotine addict took the bait. It's obviously forced and his bickering with her guardian is so fake she almost wants to throw the table at him if she wasn't feeling so damn queasy.
Mitsuba's fiance then took the time to introduce himself and almost immediately, Kagura's hackle rose and her proverbial whiskers twitched.
Something's wrong with this guy.
She saw Hijikata shift on her peripheral vision. His eyes were way too cold and the glint in them made her uncomfortable. He knows something and Kagura swallowed because if drama movies taught her anything, it was that the husband or the fiance is always the bad guy.
Sougo suddenly made an appearance and for once, his attention was not directed to cause her misery. His red eyes where bright and his pupils were dilated, aimed straight at Hijikata. She felt Gintoki squirm a little and remembered that her guardian was uncomfortable with drama.
She gathered the intel she'd gotten from Mitsuba's earlier story telling, connecting the dots by herself and concluding that the Sadist is a jealous S.O.B. Kagura's not the sharpest tool in the box but she saw how Mitsuba's eyes twinkled when the mayo-lover was mentioned or how her cheeks dimpled a little bit more.
Sougo is as much of a sadist as he is possessive.
Hijikata is a selfless bastard but at least he didn't join the biggest crime syndicate in the whole damn universe...
-and Mitsuba is wasting away while her idiots were too busy pissing on each other instead of spending time with her.
It pisses Kagura to heaven and back.
When Gintoki and her finally got home and settled to sleep the rest of the day away, Kagura kept her eyes wide open. She's terrified at the ghosts that haunts her behind closed eyelids, terrified at how fast a smile can transition to a deathly line.
It was in the middle of early morning when she woke up clawing at the walls of her closet-room, her mouth agape with garbled screams spilling out like a broken faucet. She didn't notice the creaking of the old floorboards nor the sound of the closet door sliding open, didn't notice the crinkled brow that looked weird on Gintoki's impassive face, didn't notice how his voice soften and reassured her that it was just a nightmare.
All she can see were the ghosts of the past.
She dreamt of her mother, of her absent father, of Kamui. Dreamt how it was raining blood and Kamui was laughing while he danced over Papi's corpse. She dreamt of her mami stroking her head with a smile, half of her face gone and melting and dripping and it's getting on her and she's choking and she can't-
Years worth of bottled memories and forcefully forgotten skeletons came rushing out and if she weren't too swallowed by delirious fear and grief, she would've laughed at how Gintoki floundered like a panicked fish.
Kagura! Kagura snap out of it! I'm here, it's fine! Wake up damn it!
Like a scene from a cliche drama, Gintoki woke her up with a slap.
Wide, petrified blue eyes looked at equally wide russets. Gintoki opened his arms in expectation but instead of throwing herself at him, the samurai watched in mixed shock and hurt when Kagura curled into a ball and pressed herself at the corner of her cramped room.
Her whimpers and muffled cries were sending proverbial knives at his gut and he refused to acknowledge that this sobbing, miserable, terrified mess of a girl was his rambunctious, gluttonous and loud Kagura.
Her eyes were unseeing, dimmed down to
muddy blues drowning in tears. He knew her past, knew the skeletons she hides in her closet, wondering who was with her during her fall out stage because he's damn sure everyone with a past like that has one.
Gintoki cursed and realized it's happening now.
The kid was way too strong for her own good. But he guess, he should be thankful about that. Because now at least, she's not alone.
It took hours but Gintoki remained persistent, coaxing Kagura slowly whose loud grief watered down into apathetic acceptance. By the time the girl was tucked safely in his arms and silently sleeping her dreamless escape to reality, Gintoki was dead on his ass.
Shinpachi came in that morning and blinked in surprise when he saw a passed out Gintoki leaning on the couch with Kagura softly snoring against his chest.
He took a picture and then silently tiptoed outside to shop for breakfast.
You can hide your skeletons in your closet and your nightmares in your pocket
The days passed silently and Kagura never failed to spend the day with Mitsuba in the hospital. She kept the woman company no matter how bad her nightmares are evolving with every passing day. After the three night mark, she had learned to stop screaming, not wanting to rely on Gintoki like the passed nights and kept her tears as silent as she could, sometimes even going as far as biting her tongue so hard she nearly cleaved it in half. But like all the plans surrounding the permed man, he was already one step ahead of her. The damn samurai nearly gave her a heart attack when he slammed her door open, hellfire in his eyes at the sight of Kagura suffocating herself with her pillow, blood pooling in her mouth and down the side of her lips.
The verbal lashing she got that night was nearly enough to clear her unravelling mind.
What did you guys talk about with Yamazaki-san?
Kagura froze and promptly turned her attention elsewhere, letting Gintoki string up an excuse about earlier's turn of events. They had found out via Yamazaki about the illegal business Mitsuba's fiance was a part of and she cursed those drama series for being always right.
And now, she's pretty sure Mayora and Sadist were duking it out. Kagura knows the two enough and with how sensitive Mitsuba's status is right now, she bet her lifetime worth of Sukonbu that the two men are in a middle of a fight about the sickly woman they should be spending their time on at this very moment.
You tax robbers are so stupid yes?!
She punched a clean hole on the wall and pretended nothing happened afterwards.
When she was happily conversing with Mitsuba about the uses of tabasco, the woman suddenly seized up and began coughing raggedly, Gintoki immediately standing up and called a nurse over.
Sou-chan... Toushiro-san...
She heard amidst the strangled coughing that soon grew wet with blood.
Drip. Drip. Drop.
The red that slowly spread on the pristine white sheets looks hypnotizing for Kagura. Blood has always been morbidly pretty to her, having seen so much at such a young age.
But red and white is a combination Kagura grew to hate with a passion.
And the grief and sadness that had accumulated the passed few days turned into burning anger and rage.
When Gintoki asked her if she's okay after assisting Mitsuba into ER, he was surprised to see plain murder bright on her face.
Im going to drag two idiots by their motherfucking balls.
Kouka died feeling abandoned and alone. God forbids Kagura will let Mitsuba feel the same.
You know they're not gonna listen to you right?
Gintoki knew whatever he says wouldn't stop Kagura from stomping out and coming back with possibly two half dead bodies but he still tried nonetheless. The girl has her heart in the right place but considering the fact that she's dealing with a pair of emotionally stunted men whose morals somehow rubs the other wrong, it will not be a smooth ride.
Easy, I'll make them listen yes?
Her smile was way too sharp and has way too many teeth that Gintoki blanched, thinking that a certain mayora and sadist might actually beat Mitsuba in the afterlife at this point.
Kagura took her parasol and stomped out of the room with a resolute strategy, ready to kick down the Shinsengumi's doors and break legs just so her preys wouldn't be able to run and she needed the extra pair of bodies to pummel anyways.
The smell of anpan and metal suddenly permeated the air and she stopped just in time to avoid colliding with a still afro-ed Yamazaki.
I-It's the Vice Commander!
The rest of the officer's blabber was lost to Kagura and she suddenly found herself running. Cursing Hijikata and his selflessness and cursing him more because why does he have to remind her too much of a brother who's like him but not?
-but with bitter jealousy and grudging respect, she admits that Hijikata is still leaps and bounds above Kamui because he's not entirely a coward. It seems that Sougo has her beat again for the umpteenth time.
As she ran towards the docks Yamazaki named(stupid tax robbers and their lack of confidentiality), she pumped her legs faster, Mitsuba's frail state flashing constantly at the back of her mind.
Hurry up hurry up hurry hurry hurry-
Gunshots soon reached her hearing and she slipped silently over the crates piled on top of each other, her senses sharpening as her muscles coiled in preparation for a battle. She lost track of time as she slithered all over the place in search for the nicotine addict, finding a trail of blood that smells partial rust and partial smoke until she finally reached the end of the red drops.
Hijikata's bloody face didn't dampen the fire in his eyes and Kagura felt as if something punched her in the gut. His blue eyes were narrowed with rage and a glint of someone who was ready to gamble everything just to protect a loved one.
Sougo you one lucky bastard.
The demon vice commander swiped his sword in the air in a deadly song, his lips tight and firm over his ever present cigarette. He pointed the tip of his sword towards Mitsuba's fiance and Kagura can't stop looking.
I just want the woman that I love to be happy.
The weight in those simple words were enough to topple Kagura over. She thought she knows Hijikata but she's proven wrong apparently. Kagura never would've expected him to actually admit it. Nonetheless out loud. But she guess even mayo-freaks have their moments.
But it doesn't erase the fact that he left the woman he said he loved.
Then what the fuck are you doing here yes?!
Hijikata's bravado shrivelled at the familiar battle cry and he nearly dropped his sword in shock. Kagura jumped out of her hiding place and began bludgeoning the criminals who were too stupefied to retaliate.
After shooting a rain of bullets that kicked up a thick fog of smoke, Kagura gripped Hijikata by the arm and ignored how the bones shifted under her fist. The officer kept on shrieking at her however, asking stupid questions like why was she there, what she's doing picking a fight with criminals, he kept on asking her questions until Kagura have had enough and rounded at him with a fierce snarl.
The look on his face when she told him Mitsuba's condition was nearly worth the trouble she went through. His eyes had gotten wide, his lips widening just enough for his cigarette to fall out.
However, he schooled his expression almost immediately and reached inside his coat for another cancer stick.
Im in a middle of a miss-
The lighter burned badly against her palms but at this point where her monsters are slowly coming out, Kagura welcomed the stinging pain. She ignored Hijikata's shocked garble when she clamped her hands around his cravat and pulled with a strength of a pissed yato.
She's done. No more. She's had enough of people assuming what's good or what's not. Enough of ridiculously coward but strong men who thinks they know what's best for the women they left behind in fake guises of protection.
Kagura lost her mother who had no one to send her off, if she can prevent the same from happening to Mitsuba who was as much of a victim as Sougo and Hijikata were, by the gods she will do it.
She stared straight at Hijikata's eyes and roared at how stupid and dumb he is. She yelled at him with a voice that held too deep scars and dampened grief.
She's alone yes?! You love her yes?!
Questions that were answered with resounding yes and his eyes came running out of her mouth, tears already falling down her eyes because she can see Hijikata but her brain was aimed at a long lost shadow of a once upon a time brother and father.
You already left. You want to protect her? You love her? But now that she's slipping away from your fingers, what's keeping you from running up to her and telling her the words she'd been waiting to hear for so long?
They have a choice. Something her family never had the privilege of having. And that's the thing that made Kagura so much bitter and twice as determined. Her dysfunctional family weren't bound by choices because fate had already decided to screw them over. But Hijikata, Sougo- they both have choices. They can both stay by Mitsuba's side till the end because for heaven's sakes the person they were protecting from harm is already way passed beyond that.
What are you so afraid of?!
Kagura slumped and resorted to desperate begging, pleading to the gods, pleading to Hijikata to just fucking go already before it's too late.
Please please please dont leave her alone. You're everything that she has.
And finally, words that oh so weary and twice as remorseful rang in the air.
Don't leave her alone like Mami.
The vice commander remained frozen under the crying girl whose mask had fallen in tiny specks of grieving pieces. Never had he seen this child, this kid who lived so freely reduced to this pathetic shell of scarred china clothes and purple parasols.
She might be young and twice his age, but fate never did care who they were fucking with in the first place.
That useless boss of yours is rubbing off on you, equally nosy but twice as tiny.
Hijikata shifted and poked Kagura on the forehead with a bloody finger.
How can I go to the hospital if you're holding me down china girl?
Kagura took one deep breath and exhaled her fears in one swift sob. She punched the stupid Mayora once in the stomach just for the heck of it before she stood up and helped the policeman who apparently had a bullet wound right through his knee cap. She grumbled and swore but she remained steadfast despite Hijikata's hulking mass looking so awkward halfway slumped against her.
But of course, similar to both Kagura and Hijikata's experience, it wouldn't be that simple.
They were halfway around the area when a gun shot blasted through the silence, going past a couple of inches shy the Shinsengumi's head. Mitsuba's fiance(Kagura refused to use his name) glanced down at both of them and simply raised a brow at the girl's presence. She felt Hijikata's grip tightened from its position over her shoulders when the corrupted man simply stated that he has no qualms tossing both of them in a single container and tossed to the sea.
Kagura sneered at the man and told him she'd rather off herself than be stuck with an old dude like Hijikata from which he socked her on the head as payment.
I have no time for this, see you around yes?
And with that, Kagura tossed a shrieking Hijikata completely over her shoulders like a sack of bleeding potatoes and ran. It took a while for the criminals to give chase simply due to the fact that they had a hard time comprehending how a girl that small can carry a guy that big.
-Gahdfuckingdamnit china brat watch it!
She ignored the curses thrown over her shoulders nor the hand that was gripping a bit too tight on one of her hair buns and continued hauling ass. Jumping nimbly to the side to avoid a stray bullet, Kagura growled and whacked Hijikata on the head with her parasol before shoving the yato weapon in his hands.
Start shooting or I'll drop you yes?
The grumbling that ensued were then promptly swallowed by the sound of rapid firing of bullets and she ignored how the policeman seemed to enjoy using her umbrella if his creepy low evil chuckles were to go by.
However, Kagura yelped when something hot and small dug deep on her upper tight and her knees buckled. She braced her knee on the concrete just to stabilize her balance, not needing to look down to know that she'd been shot on her thigh. Hijikata gruffly called to her with barely concealed worry but she simply brushed him off and straightened up once more.
Ignoring the white pain on her lowerbody, Kagura took off and simply gripped Hijikata's pants tightly to channel some of the pain off.
They were almost out of the docks when a grenade was tossed in front of their path. Kagura cursed and immediately stopped but it was not enough.
With a flash of light, the bomb went off.
The smoke was the first thing that registered in Kagura's mind when she opened her eyes. Everything was buzzing and spinning and she's choking on the scent of smoke and the spicy sharp scent of gunpowder. Blood dripped down her lip from the steady stream on her forehead and all she could think of was-
-where's Mayora? We have to hurry, Mit-chan just a lil bit longer.
She coughed before she picked herself up, ignoring the blunt pain all over her body. Then, she heard the officer call out to her.
Im fine yes!
Kagura scampered over Hijikata's silhouette by one of the containers and she inwardly winced at the bump on his forehead. She must've dropped him in the middle of mayhem.
Her senses tingled, back arching instinctively as the sound of footsteps went around and surrounded them. The smoke settled a bit and she saw that they were surrounded by criminals and there was no way out. Something warped inside of her and her shoulders tensed.
Oi china brat-
And then, she was everywhere.
Hijikata didn't know when exactly did she get her umbrella back from him but the flashes of purple was enough indication that the girl had taken it from him without him noticing. It unnerved him more than it should've. He'd seen her fight before of course, many times even. But there was this fierceness and rabidness present on her at that very moment and it was then that it dawned on him.
She's always been holding back.
Because now, she's desperate. She's a hunter on a mission. And if people are deadset on stopping her from that mission. She'd gladly fight back.
Mitsuba needs him. And here he is, blinded by his own screwed up idea of love while this woman-child kept on risking her life just so someone who'd she'd only have met for more than a week wouldn't be subjected under the same sense of abandonement she and her mother had gone through.
Hijikata only saw now that her fangs were there to protect than kill.
Twenty seven years old and he's got his ass beat by a five foot one china brat.
Talk about pathetic.
He pushed himself up and gripped his katana tighter, a new glint of something sharp once more present in his eyes. No more running. No more lame excuse of being a man who knows what is best. No more pushing away the woman that loves him as much as he does, if not, more.
Im coming Mitsuba.
The explosion that rang out the same time he brought down his sword against the first body out of many, Hijikata feared for the worst. That is, until the familiar voice of his commander began hollering out his name with mixed anger and worry in his tone.
Familiar uniformed men swarmed the place and various shouts of their title rang over the battlefield. His mind was in a daze until familiar grabby hands ripped him out of his reverie.
Kagura's bloody face did nothing to dampen her bright blue eyes and she snarled something at him before dragging him near the exit. Something caught his attention and he stopped.
Kuraba's getting away.
He can feel Kagura stiffen at his words but he looked at her with a look so intense and determined that she simply clicked her tongue and delivered another suckerpunch to his gut.
Hurry up we dont have all day yes?!
Cursing the audacity of this impromptu side kick of his, they ran towards the seaside and arrived just in time to see the weasel enter a car and took off. Hijikata was about to turn and get one of the Shinsengumi's patrol cars to give chase when he felt weightless the second time that day. With a glint and a cheeky grin, Kagura lifted him over her head and threw him like a football with the strength of a bungee pull.
The shriek that erupted from his throat was very much unbecoming for a demon vice commander like him but he's thankful that the wind rushing past him was enough to muffle said sound. He took out his sword and estimated his landing on the roof of the car, inwardly noting and thanking whatever deity that allowed Kagura's aim to hit true. His blade went through the metal like butter and a vicious grin split at his lips when his katana stabbed through something he can only identify as flesh.
One of the bodyguards came out halfway through the window and aimed a gun at him only to be knocked away by a familiar bokuto.
Dont mind me Im just here to pick up my brat!
Was the damn Yorozuya's reply when he verbally showed his surprise at the perm's presence. Behind said perm, with a cheeky grin veiled by blood and dust was the mentioned brat who had the gall to cheekily give him a peace sign. Gintoki then tossed him a bag of spicy crackers of all things and stared at him in the same fashion Kagura did just a few moments ago.
Gintoki really is rubbing off on her.
You guys should take them to her... It'll make her happy.
Hijikata turned around just because and met gazes with red eyes that were so familiar but at the same time different. Something shifted in Sougo's gaze and it felt as if time itself had slowed down when something Hijikata can only read as acceptance flashed through the younger man's face. With heat steadily climbing up his eyeballs, Hijikata wrenched out his sword and haphazardly jumped away from the roof of the still moving car. He vaguely noticed Kagura's similar stunt with the scooter and raised his hands before stabbing his sword in between the car and the rotating wheels. The combined effort of his and Gintoki(who was doing the same on the other side) along with the china girl(being a monster that she is had all but stopped the car by herself from behind) was enough to send the car careening towards Sougo.
Gintoki was just in time to snag Kagura by the back of her shirt before the whole thing was sliced in half and then blew up in a flash of metal and glass.
Everything was a blur of movements from then on. The pressing matter that was Mitsuba only starting to get back at them when the hospital loomed over the horizon. They got there first, the rest of the police force choosing to stay behind to clean up the messes left by the successful raid. Kagura didn't need to go with Hijikata and Sougo to talk with the doctor.
She already knew what's going to happen why hear it from someone else?
Gintoki silently remained like a guardian gargoyle by her side after scrubbing her face raw with his now dirtied yukata. The man had patted her on the head and said she did a good job roughing up Hijikata's ass and that throw she did with him was top tier.
Sougo entered the room holding Mitsuba in and she stared at Hijikata's straight back who was left standing in the middle of the hallway alone. His image was once more overlapped by a familiar back with vermillion braids and ragged parasol.
Are you still a Kamui after all Mayora?
Kamui's afterimage fell away like oil to water when the vice commander turned to his heel however. His face him and only him, not tainted with a closed eyed smile and a too wide grin. Hijikata walked towards the room and he stopped just as he stepped a foot inside the opened door.
He raised a hand and ruffled Kagura's messy hair.
Thanks brat.
And he closed the door with a click.
Time lost it's meaning then. Kagura simply waited and ignored the throbbing wound by her thigh which was halfway healed by now, the pain in her body echoing the pain in her heart.
But at least, Mitsuba will be going with a pleasant picture of Sougo and Hijikata together to send her off. She didn't mind not being able to see Mitsuba for the last time, doesn't mind that she was not a part of the final words of the loving woman. She's not delusional. Kagura knows she's a stranger despite her clinging to the idea of Kouka she saw in Mitsuba and she knows her days reliving the past was now officially over.
So instead of feeling jealous, she simply took comfort in the arm draped around her shoulders and the glasses waiting for them at home, finally accepting that the family she had once lost was never meant to be completed.
She might've lost her family, but she gained a new one. And Kagura vows that this time, they'll remain strong together and fight together.
She's a weakling after all and weaklings need family.
The door opened and Kagura stiffened.
She saw Hijikata first, his eyes were bloodshot but there's a shine in them that made Kagura smile a tiny bit. He was sniffing and angrily munching on a pack of spicy crackers, crying and grumbling that it was too spicy. He took a seat across from them and continued munching, clicking his tongue and swiping at his face to rid the tears and the snot.
Then Sougo followed. Unlike the older officer, he looks clean and as proper as usual despite his red nose and equally bloodshot eyes, hair a bit ruffled and limp. He walked and took the other vacant chair beside Hijikata, staring at Kagura with an unreadable look on his face.
Kagura wasn't in the mood to pick up a fight so she just subtly inched closer towards her guardian's side.
The sound of munching and sniffing must've annoyed Gintoki out of his skin since he briskly stood up and gruffly told the two officers that he's taking Kagura home for the day. Kagura hesitated but nonetheless stood up to follow the silver samurai and was about to reach for the excess part of his yukata(a nervous habit Gintoki finds half annoying and half endearing) when a grip on her wrist stopped her.
She glared at the sadist and asked him if he's gone crazy in the head.
Aneue said thank you.
Kagura began shaking off the sadist's grip irately because damn it she's not going to cry in front of him.
The bastard's hold on her was tight.
And that danna is lucky to have someone like you.
Kagura yanked a spicy cracker out of Hijikata's stash and shoved it in her mouth, her face turning red in point blank second. She screamed in pain and kept on hollering how spicy the damn thing was, eyes wide with tears that were too free flowing to be healthy. She ripped her hand from Sougo and stomped past Gintoki, hiccuping and cursing.
The permed samurai briefly walked towards the young prodigy and gave him a rough shoulder pat, not unlike a dad who's congratulating his kid for a job well done.
As Kagura exited the hospital, still crying and very much sobbing, the wind roared loudly and she closed an eye to keep the debris out.
You did good Kagura.
The proud smile that was aimed at her in a face she can only call mami was bright along the swallowing depth of the night, vermillion braid flowing freely and blue eyes warm with love. The glowing mirage closed her eyes and widened her smile and Kagura ached at how encompassing it was compared to the ghost ones from her memories.
She reached a hand and took a step forwar-
Ready to go home? Gin-chan's tired.
Kagura snapped her attention towards the blinking man and then back at the area where her light had been. The darkness stared back at her like a relentless hunter.
Wiping her tears, she looked hard at Gintoki who was now raising a brow at her in a questioning manner. Is her eyes that tired or does he look a little too bright?
When Kagura slept that night, she dreamt of honeworts and bay flowers.
Mami... Im sorry. And thank you.
Honeworts and Bay Flowers
I~