Hello again guys! Here I am with the new chapter. It's something more happier this time, cause I think we need a little break from the angst.
I also wanted to thanks mirazal for all the help with the grammar from the previous chapter :)
This being said, please enjoy! :D And your reviews are the best!
P.S. Trust me to write Shoyo instead of Soyo -thanks azalettuce por pointnig that out-. Blame it on Shouyou-sensei and the last chapter of the manga. I have yet to recover :')
Kagura woke up to sore legs and a headache. Her head was throbbing and, as soon as she tried to get up, her stomach grumbled and she felt like throwing up. She buried her face in the pillow, moaning softly, her navel flat against the mattress.
What a way to start a day.
She heard some shuffling noises to her left and, as slowly as possible, she looked around just to lock her eyes in a broad back. A man with a sandy, long ponytail was getting dressed. And then, she remembered.
The previous night she had been about to be raped by a man who had drugged her, only to be saved by none other than Okita Sougo, who she had ended up sleeping with.
'Oh my god. What have I done.'
She tried to remain still, both for the sake of her body and her mental health. She was in no condition to argue with him right now. Lots of questions were piling up in her mind, but this was not the moment nor the place.
"I'm leaving now."
"S-sure." Her voice was raspy and muffled by the pillow, and she swallowed in an attempt to hydrate her throat. "If you tell anyone about this-"
"I know, you'll kill me."
A little later after he had left, she found the strength to sit up. Her head was still spinning, but at least her stomach had stopped twisting. She looked around, searching for something to drink and was glad when she spotted a bottle placed in a table.
With wobbling legs, she made her way to the corner where the table was placed and tasted the bottle's content. She was glad it was water, and she gulped it down. The liquid felt like medicine, and she damned the drug and its strong effects.
When she made sure she wasn't gonna throw up, she made a beeline for the futon and lied down again.
The following moments of silence were enough to send her head into a state of chaos.
'Oh gods, what have I done? What the hell was I thinking about yesterday? I have sleep with Okita! Good way to keep your feelings at bay, Kagura. Go ahead and have sex with the guy you're in love with. Yes, moron. In love. I'm fucking in love with him. What's the point in denying it any longer?
Oh, yes. That's not all. I still have to talk with Tsukuyo and tell her that I couldn't keep the deal because that fucking asshole almost raped me. Good thing he had already paid. If he ever comes back to protest I'll make sure he can't enjoy a place like Yoshiwara again.'
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the door sliding, nor the worried face of a blonde beauty hovering over her. Only when Tsukuyo softly shaked her shoulder did she came to her senses again.
Kagura jolted upright, and Tsukuyo watched her face twist in pain. Hinowa was in her wheelchair next to her, and the other courtesan helped her down as the young Yato leaned down for the third time that morning.
"Gods, Kagura, you look awful. What happened yesterday? Did something go wrong? We were worried sick when we found the room you're supposed to be in empty."
"I'm sorry I worried you, but that man drugged me."
"He what?"
"He drugged me with some kind of aphrodisiac made for Yatos, so I lost my strength. But I'm fine now. More or less. Okita found me and beat the crap out of that guy. He brought me here last night and... mmmh... put me to sleep." Now that was the lamest excuse she could've come up with.
"Okita found you?" Hinowa looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Yes. He's always around."
"And he fought with our customer?"
"Well, it was that or my physic and mental health."
"Gods, Kagura, of course. I wasn't criticising him, I'll thank him the next time I see him. It's just that, given your relationship, I wouldn't have thought... Well, you used to get along. Kind of. Isn't that right, Tsukuyo?"
When the woman gave no signs of having heard the question, both Hinowa and Kagura turned their heads to her, only to find her face full of rage.
"That bastard..." She made an attempt to stand up, but Kagura grabbed her arm to make her stay.
"It's alright, Tsukki, really. In the end he didn't touch me, and trust the sadist to make him regret it if he ever dares to come back. I think it'll be enough if you tell the Hyakka to keep an eye on him."
"But-"
"I think Kagura-chan doesn't want to dwell on it too much. We should be grateful he payed beforehand. It'll make him think twice before doing such a thing again." Hinowa smiled at Kagura softly, and the redhead returned the gesture.
Tsukuyo shook her head, clearly not done, but she said nothing else about the man.
"I guess we're closing the topic about you sleeping with customers, then?"
Kagura bit her lip, knowing that after what had happened the night before there was no way in hell Tsukuyo would agree ever again to let her help with the business.
"Guess I don't have another choice as long as I'm staying here under your roof."
"Don't say it like that, you know I'm only looking after you. Which is not easy, considering you're a Yato. A beautiful one, to put it simply. It's quite hard to keep creeps away from you."
Any other day Kagura would have said she was able to take care of herself, but that morning was not the most appropriate moment.
"I know, and I'm sorry for the trouble."
A little tense moment followed then. She was not used to have arguments with Tsukuyo, and her head was still in a daze.
"Well, I guess we should tell her she has a visitor?"
Hinowa always knew how to alleviate rough situations, and Kagura's interest was picked. There was only one person who visited her there. She made sure to go out of Yoshiwara to visit Otae, Otose and the others back in the surface, as she didn't want to trouble them. But this someone was far more safe in a prostitutes' house than in the streets of Edo.
"You should go take a hot, long bath to get rid of whichever the after effects of that drug may be. I'll call one of the girls to help you. Have fun and don't think about what happened anymore, okay?"
'I'll try.'
Tsukuyo helped her to her wheelchair and, before they left the room, she kneeled down beside her futon to give her a hug.
"I'm also sorry for what happened, Kagura. I'm just trying to keep you safe and I won't let something like this happen ever again."
Hugging her back, she smiled.
"I know."
When the fusuma opened, Kagura threw herself in the arms of Soyo. The princess had the best timing ever. For everything.
"K-Kagura-chan." She relieved in her friend's voice. "I-I can't breathe."
"I'm so glad you're here." She ignored the girl's struggles to break free of her hold, tightening her arms around her. "You couldn't have chosen a better moment."
Finally releasing her, Kagura looked at her, the brightest of the smiles on her face.
"Well, you know I can't exactly choose when to visit you. I would come here everyday if I had a choice."
Kagura's expression darkened.
Soyo was the former princess of the country. After everything they had gone through together, his brother, the Shōgun, had been killed and she had been left with no option but to hide. This had meant she was no longer able to visit her at the castle, nor could she meet with her on the streets on a sunny day.
She had fled Edo and her whereabouts were a mystery to everyone except for the people taking care of her. She had stated, however, that if she couldn't visit Kagura from time to time, she would hand herself over to the enemy soldiers looking for her all around the country.
In the end, she had made a deal with her caretakers. She would drop by Edo every few months with no previous warning, and pray for Kagura to be around.
Since Gin's death, they had only seen each other six times in four years, so it was always a blessing whenever Hinowa or Tsukuyo told her someone was visiting her. Right now, she was the person she needed the most, as she was the only one aware of her affections for the sadist.
It had taken Soyo one night, in which Okita had also happened to be in the building, to find about her friend's blooming feelings towards the former police officer.
He had drop by her room, where they had been at that moment, to pay his respects. He had been, after all, one of the officers in charge of her well being before her brother's demise, so both the girls knew they could trust him.
After his exit, Soyo had come face to face with a flustered and agitated Kagura. The reason wasn't too difficult to guess. Okita being there meant he was ready to spend the evening with a girl, and the brunette only had one explanation for Kagura's behavior regarding the topic which also matched her red face.
She asked her about it the following morning -when she decided it was safe enough and she wouldn't get accidentally hit by a very upset Yato- and Kagura found herself telling her everything about it.
This time, however, she didn't need any kind of incentive to spill the beans.
"I slept with Okita yesterday."
The surprise in Soyo's face didn't catch her off guard. Eyes as big as saucers, dropped jaw. She was expecting nothing less.
"You what?"
"I slept with Okita yesterday."
"Kagura, what on earth-"
"I know." A pause. "I know. I just- I don't know what I was thinking about. Lots of things happened last night and it seems my head decided somewhere along the way the best way to get through it was having... sex... with him." She waited for Soyo to show something apart from shock.
"O- oh. Okay. Fine. Let's... uh... Let's sit. Yes. Come here and sit with me." Following her lead, Kagura leaned on the wall, dropping down next to her friend and gripping the hems of her kimono.
'When have I become an anxious, troubled girl.'
"Well, I think you have some explanation to do?"
About half an hour later, Kagura was expectantly waiting for her friend to process all the information.
"Holy cow, Kagura-chan! You sure had a wild night yesterday! Did yo- Ouch! That hurts!"
"This is serious!"
"Fine, fine, I'll let the teasing for later. But seriously, what was going through that skull of yours? Has all that sukonbu turned it into seaweed?"
Puffing, Kagura tried to look for a reasonable explanation.
She came out with nothing. All the reasons she had had the night before now seemed pointless.
"I would say it was because of the drug but, given the fact that my strength had come back, I'm pretty sure it had already wore out. I swear I was just so dizzy when I woke up and then I just wanted him all. The worst is that I feel guilty! I had promised Tsukki I would only sleep with that bastard for the money but I ended up sleeping with the sadist! Dammit!"
After a pause, Soyo looked at her.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up for this. You were lucky enough that man didn't touch you in the end. As for Okita-san, it was something you chose. You're old enough to decide for yourself. If you had slept with him in exchange for money, Tsukuyo-san would have a say in the matter. However, you decided to do it because you wanted. Nothing Yoshiwara related."
"I'm not sure I wanted..."
"Well, that's another topic. Now that I hope that you don't feel guilty anymore, try to look at it from this perspective- you've been with Okita-san! Gods, Kagura-chan, you're so lucky! Is he as good as girls say?"
Kagura's face softened a little, cheering up at her friend's attempts to make her happy.
"Mmmh... It's not like I have something to compare it to... And there's also this voice in my head telling me I'm stupid and-"
"You're not answering my question and I swear I'm not moving until you do so."
"Okay, okay. Fine." She finally cracked cracked a smile, and Soyo smiled knowingly. "It was good. Pretty good." A nudge in the ribs and a snort. "Gods, Soyo. Apart from it being a first and a bit awkward, yes, he was amazing."
"I knew it! Hell yes! I mean, you just have to look at him! He's so lean and I bet his abs were rock hard and-"
"Soyo shut up! You're screaming way too mu-"
"-his arms are so strong and OH MY GOD-"
"I'm oh so gonna beat yo-"
"Did he kiss you?"
Trust Soyo to leave her a speechless and flustered mess.
"What do you think?"
"Oh gods, he did!" With this final statement, the princess tackled her to the ground in a fit of laughter.
"Ow, ow, ow! Soyo, stop!" Kagura was trying her best not to laugh, but her legs were still sore. "I'm hurting all over and you're making it worse!"
The brunette was now crying hysterically on the floor, her tears spilling in the tatami.
"So he's rough in bed matters and also-"
"Don't."
"You're so funny! Oh gods, you should see your face right now!"
"Just wait because the moment you fall in love I'll make sure to go and tell him or her or whoever personally! I'll have no mercy!"
That night, when they were both in their respective futons getting ready to sleep, Kagura decided that she couldn't be more grateful with the princess. She had made her see what had happened in a different light, and she felt relieved. It wasn't so bad, after all. Not for the time being.
"Soyo?"
"Yes?"
"I'm really happy this time you can stay the night. I'll miss you."
"I am, too, though now I know if you feel lonely, you can always look for Okita-san!"
"That's it. You won't see another sunrise!"
Preparing for the kicks and laughs that were about to come, both girls forgot about the world they were living in and enjoyed the fact that some nights weren't as lonely as others.
I wanted to inform you that I'll be moving to Madrid in less than two weeks and then I'll start college, so I don't know how often I'll be able to update. Please be patient with me.
Besos desde España!