Kagura woke up to the sound of incessant knocking on the bedroom door.
She doesn't open her eyes to know that it was already morning. The little sunlight that was seeping through the curtains and entering the dark room was enough to let her know. And she doesn't need to ask the person outside why they were knocking.
With difficulty, she tries to pry off the arms that were encircling her waist and failed. She then resorted to push the bare chest away from her but only received a groan.
"Bakaiser-sama?" The voice outside asked. "It's time for the morning assembly, sir. I've been asked to fetch you."
But the said Bakaiser still wouldn't get up. It started to annoy Kagura that her much needed rest, after a very tiring night with him, was being disturbed all because he was too lazy to wake up.
"Oi, Sadist, wake up! Get the door." She murmurs. For emphasis, and because she couldn't remove his arms from her, she shakes his shoulder in a violent manner. "Hurry up."
"In a minute…" He replies.
But the officer outside didn't know that. He continued to knock on the door and kept on calling their Kaiser. Physical means won't goad him to get up so maybe something else?
"Alright. Maybe I'll go back to the Yorozuya. No one ever disturbs my sleep there." She said in a more cheerful voice. It didn't take the Sadist half a minute to get out of bed and head to the bathroom.
Bingo!
Kagura rolls around and stares at Okita who was already wearing his pants and was washing his face by the sink. She could see the frustration he had in how intense he was scrubbing his face with soap. She knew he didn't like it when she made those kinds of jokes but it always got her what she wanted. After cleansing his now reddened face, he heads to the drawer next to the bed to get a clean, white shirt.
"I was just kidding, you know?" She sported those puppy eyes she often saw on TV when people wanted to apologize. Her Sadist's stern face soon formed into a smiling one.
"I know." He rested his hand on the bed and leaned in to kiss her. She, in turn, held on tightly to his arm. "Very good tactics."
She smiled, acknowledging his rare compliment, "Hurry back." She whispered against his lips.
"Weren't you the one who wanted me to go so quickly?" He teased and her smiled turned into a pout.
Their hands lingered for a few moments as he left for the door. He was very clingy, that Sadist, but he was never vocal about it. He showed it through actions. Her, on the other hand, would always voice out her complaints of intimacy. When she wanted him near, she was sure to speak her mind.
The voice of a scared officer and the clicking of the door signaled that he had left. Kagura sits up to get the Sadist's recently used shirt from the foot of the bed and slips it on. She really loved wearing his shirt. It wasn't too big and was comfortable enough for her to wear in bed. But it wasn't often that she was able to do it since he always placed in a laundry bin after taking it off.
Falling back on the bed, she takes a whiff of his scent from the collar. His shirts always smelled like cologne but she was sure she hasn't seen any kind of cologne bottles in their room. And she could register a bit of a woman's scent on them every once in a while. But she never worried he had another because ever since they got together, at night, they were never in separate rooms.
She recalls how he had proposed the idea months ago. It was in the afternoon and he had asked someone to fetch her from the Yorozuya. She was reluctant of course, what would the Bakaiser want with her? She initially thought it had something to do with her illegal immigration but she was a bit surprised when no one handcuffed her or brought her in an interrogation room at their headquarters.
It had been very unusual. Instead of the hostile behavior the Yorozuya often received, she was met with hospitality and respect. Whenever she and her escort came across any lower ranked officers, they would stop to greet her. What's more is how the escort was giving her a tour of the new Shinsengumi HQ; giving her irrelevant or trivial information about how a room had been made or what was its purpose. She even noticed that he was really trying to make a good image for their Bakaiser by praising him every now and then.
The boring tour continued until they arrived in front of a room with very large, wooden doors. She guessed it contained something very important to the Shinsengumi and maybe she was called there to receive a job.
"Please, step inside, Kagura-san. The Bakaiser will be with you shortly." The escort had said.
Kagura was right, the room contained something very important. Judging by the extravagant and red-themed furniture, beddings and drapes, this was most likely the Bakaiser's bedroom. Her feet walked on their own and she marveled at how beautiful the room was. She's never been somewhere so nice; she only saw them on TV and this definitely felt like one of her soap operas.
She was very confused. What did that Sadist want? The Shinsengumi would never lower their pride to ask them for a job and she knew it was excessive of them to get her as their maid. In her musings, her feet lead her to the bathroom near the bed. She hadn't really paid attention to her surroundings and didn't register the stinging coldness of the marble sink but was still trying to figure out why he had asked for her.
A familiar voice invaded her mind; snapping her back to the present. "Do you like the place?"
With grace under pressure, she shifts her head to look at him, Okita Sougo the Bakaiser, standing by the doorway without his red cape and uniform's coat. "Well?"
"What did you want from me?" She had blatantly asked. No use in beating around the bush.
But Okita dodged the question and moved to sit on the bed. "Did they treat you well? You can tell me if you have any complaints about your escort." He said. It was really starting to get weird. The Sadist was concerned about how she was treated? Was this even the Sadist she knew from before? Maybe she was being pranked and if she gives in he'll just laugh at her face.
"Why did you ask for me?" She stands in the doorway, just a few feet away from where he sat. She keeps her respectful mode on. For some reason, the fact that he was able to go higher than a commander made her develop a sliver of respect for him. "Just tell me."
He gives her an amused smile. If he was expecting that she would give him answers while she didn't get any, then he's going to be disappointed. "I just wanted to know if you like it here." His eyes briefly scans the whole room. "So, do you?"
She still wasn't convinced with his reason and so she chose to ignore the question again. She crossed her arms, signaling that she was expecting a better answer.
He sighs. "Alright. I have something to propose to you, China." Though she was reluctant, she let him continue. "After today, you can go back home to Danna; keep eating your egg on rice, keep working there, and continue your daily routine—"
"That's what I plan to do." She interjects but Okita ignores her and continues.
"Or you can still keep doing all those except for two things."
Now this piqued her interest. She raises an eyebrow to question his statement.
"You're not going to sleep in a cabinet and you're not going to live there anymore." He bluntly states.
She gave him a bewildered expression and then scoffs. "Are you crazy? Where am I supposed to live then?"
"Here, of course."
Did she hear it right? Did he just ask her to move in to the Shinsengumi compound where girls weren't allowed in? She just laughs at his preposterous idea. Even a job like that was too big for the Yorozuya. Specifically her.
"You're crazy, I'm not going to be your slave if that's what you think. I'm going home." She said but before she gets a feet away from him, he spoke again:
"I'm giving you a choice here, China. You'll keep the freedom that you already have and continue your daily activities, whatever they are. The only difference is you'll be coming home to me." He points to himself to emphasize his point. "I won't chain you down or force anything on you. It's all up to you."
Now it was really getting weird. Why was he acting all so submissive and generous to her now? Well, what he was offering her didn't seem so bad to her. After all, she'd be finally relieved of that cramped cabinet and she'd definitely get to eat things better than her egg-over-rice meal. Also, it wasn't really that repulsive to imagine a life with him; she had grown very open minded in two years. Seeing him was kinda exciting and mysterious at the same time. The only problem was the catch.
"What's the catch?" She aggressively asks. "I don't want to be your pet or sex slave."
His eyes widened at the bold statement. "Sex slave? Well if you wanted to be my slave that cou—" she gives him a deadly glare. "I could easily go to the Red Light District if that was what I wanted."
"Then what?"
He breathes sharply before answering:
"You."
Kagura blushes at the thought of what happened next. It was the first time she felt a mixture of pain and pleasure in the years she had been alive. He wasn't rough like she had expected him to be; No. He was gentle and had made sure she was enjoying it as much as he was.
Of course she ended up accepting his offer on the condition that they were to test it out first and both of them could tap out if it didn't turn out well. He kept his promise of not obligating her to do anything for him that she didn't want and she kept her part of going back to him at the end of each day. She was actually expecting everything to fall apart in just a few weeks but it had been months since that agreement and Okita seemed to show a little more effort.
It was uncharacteristic of him, but she liked how he really tries to keep her happy. Just like a while ago, any threat she makes about leaving him doesn't end up in a physical fight (like most of their conflicts) but ends up in him automatically doing anything to please her. Of course, she made sure she kept him happy as well.
The creaking of the door and Okita's voice announcing himself made her aware of his presence. He was clearly still sleepy as he removed his ridiculous cape and removed his coat. She scoots to the right to give him enough space to lie down next to her.
"Are you still sleepy?" She asks and positions herself on his chest. He shakes his head but his eyelids were closed and his movement was a bit sloppy. She guessed he was trying to stay awake just because she was. "We can sleep in, you know?"
Upon those words, he flips their position and hugs her tightly again. "Just wake me up if you need me…" His voice softens as he drifts into sleep.
Kagura embraces his head against her chest and smiles. They were making each other happy jsut because they wanted to, not because they had agreed on it. This wasn't a trial anymore; she's sure she won't be leaving him.
END