Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama.
Author's Note: OMG! I'm so very very sorry for not updating in so long~! I hust re-read my fanfic, and I freaking hate it! I might put this to an end in the near future... Anyway,Thank you Murayama-Tsuru, Kurasuchi, Rennomiya, AnabellaCG, Angel-darkness123, supremopowerz, and loverukia for reviewing
Chapter 10: Rainy Days are a Hassle?
Hijikata stared up the tall building, the Hospital, and he had a dejected look as he entered the automatic sliding doors with Kagura's health records in his hand...The nurses were already familiar with Hijikata, because he visits the hospital every once a month.
As Hijikata walked down the hallways, the smell of medicine made him a little bit nauseous, like it has always had. He hear sick and ill people coughing from time to time as he passed through numerous rooms, just to get to Kagura's doctor's office...After he finally arrived, he knocks on his door.
"Come in," The doctor said in a relaxed voice. Hijikata was greeted with a smile, but Hijikata didn't care to return the gesture.
"Sensei, how's Kagura's health condition?" He asks, but the doctor only sighs in weary.
"Why don't you just come with Kagura-chan when she gets her check ups, instead of having to come here and ask me every once a month?" The doctor asks and Hijikata only sighs and leans on the white concrete wall of his office.
"I already told you," starts Hijikata. "After the incident, we haven't really talked to each other," Hijikata stated, and the doctore remained silent for a while, before responding, "You mean her break up with her ex-boyfriend?" the doctor asks, and Hijikata nodded.
"Well, if you must know, her condition is quite stable...Her bradychardia shouldn't bother her everyday activites," The doctor said, as he looked through Kagura's history. "Although, since the first time she came here, her immune system has lowered drastically," He says seriously. "If she ever gets another extremely high fever...her heart may not be able to recover like the first time," He says, and Hijikata curses underneath his breath.
"Thank you, sensei," Hijikata says, quickly rushing out of the office, but just as he exited the room...
"Hijikata-san?" Mitsuba asked in surprise, bumping into him unexpectedly, and Sougo had a surprised reaction.
[1 1 : 0 0 P.M.]
"Woah! Gin-chan, look at all the fish!" Kagura exlaimed as they walked through the aquarium, hand in hand. Although there were lots of spectacular fish to view, Gintoki was mostly focused on Kagura, who was enjoying her time. This was one of the moments he treasured most; When Kagura would smile ever so birghtly, unlike most of the time, where she would have such a dead expression.
"Thanks for bringing me here," Kagura said with a grin, and Gintoki patted her in the head and said, "No problem. Anything for you," he said in a charming way, making Kagura blush a bit.
"Ugh," Kagura muttered as her stomach grumbled. "Gin-chan, I'm quite hungry," Kagura said with a blank face. Gintoki only smiled fondly, remembering the times when she was so cold to him before, but now she was so open, and for that, Gintoki was glad.
[...]
"Hijikata-san, what brings you here to the hospital?" Mitsuba asks, with Sougo wondering as well, and Hijikata immediately hides the folder that had Kagura's records behind his back. As Hijikata racked his brain for an excuse, Mitsuba drank on her green tea, staring at Hijiakata with a sligthly pink blush.
"Uh...I just got a check up to see whether my cigarette smoking is causing damage to my lungs," Hijikata said, his eyes wandering off to someplace else, rather than meeting their eyes.
"So, what are the results? is it in that folder you were holding a while ago?" Sougo asks, and Hijikata gulped sligtly. 'Of course, Sougo is quite sharp,' Hijikata sighed in his head.
"Oh this folder? Yeah the results are in here," Hijikata lied smoothly, hoping that Sougo would lay off or back off, but because of Sougo's hawk-like eyes, he spotted Kagura's name on the folder, and he gasps a bit. "Hijikata..." His tone changed into a slightly angered one. "Why is Kagura's name on that?" Sougo frowns, and Hijikata mutters a curse, catching Mitsuba off-guard.
"I-can we talk about this some other time?" Hijikata nervously asked and smiled, when Sougo suddenly grabbed his wrist of the hand he used to hold the folder. "Tell me. Now," Sougo emphasized the last word, and Hijikata groaned, for he was left with no choice.
"I can't tell you. This is something I promised her that I would never tell anyone else," Hijikata said with a glare to scare of Sougo, but sougo gave him an equally dangerous glare, and they remained unmoving.
"there's nothing wrong with telling me," Sougo said, and Hijikata...gave up. Of course, there was no hope in clinging into his emotions of love for her. 'Might as well root for the two of them,' Hijikata thought bitterly.
"Here." Hijikata handed the folder, and Sougo skimmed through them. Hijikata wanted to mention about how the whole thing happened, but it was dangerous because Mitsuba was there. Sougo, of course, also felt cautious.
"Aneue, you should go home to get a rest. I'm sure your check up has drained you out," Sougo faked a smile, and Mitsuba simply nodded, despite the bad feeling that she got. After Sougo and Hijikata sent Mitsuba off to the car, they went to a cafe just across the hospital.
"What...What is this about?" Sougo asked filled with worry, his heart beating faster by the second, and his hands sweating unnecessarily, as he was afraid that something was wrong with Kagura.
"Actually...Remember that day? That stormy day, when you stayed in my house overnight, and she...she was outside, begging for forgiveness?" Hijikata recalled everything that was happening on that fateful day.
[-]
"Sougo! Open the door!" Kagura cried as she flung her fist onto the wooden door, again and again...and again, waiting for Sougo to come out of the house. The cold wind and rain was drenching her through her uniform that was now filthy as dirt, after she stayed outside for so long. She shivered as she cried, but she didn't care about the cold weather anymore. All she wanted was for Sougo and her to talk things out.
"Hah..." Kagura gasped as wind and rain blurred her senses, her mind fuzzing out because of all the things happening at once. "Sougo!" She cried out once again, but Sougo only stared outside the window of the second floor, painfully listening to her cries, with Sougo himself, silently crying.
'I have to do this...It's all because she (Matako) blackmailed me!' Sougo thought painfully and whispered ot himself as he clenched the mint green curtains, because of the pain in his chest. Hijikata just stared from the doorframe, seeing both of his friends...in pain.
[The Next Day]
"Then, thanks for letting me stay here for the night," Sougo faked a smile to Hijikata, but that only made Hijikata worried more. "It would've been troublesome for me if she followed me to the Okita Household," Sougo said as he went out of the building, despite the soft showers.
"Kagura...I'm sure she went home by now," Sougo said, walking away. "Bye, see ya," Sougo said, as if everything will be back to normal. Hijikata clenched his teeth and fists.
"Don't let your fiance do this to you. You'll only ruin yourself," Hijikata said, trying to sound not-interested as possible.
"I'm sure this is the best for all of us," Sougo said, with a pained smile, with a solitary tear falling, that was camouflaged by the soft shower of rain. As Hijikata watched Sougo's back getting further and further, he heard a whimper from the corner of his house. Hijikata's eyes widened, notcing that it was Kagura's voice.
"Hah...Hah...hhhack," Kagura was there, still in her uniform, and was suffering a high fever. She panted heavily for air, and was breathing for her life. Hijikata quickly carried her in his arms.
"Kagura! Are you okay?!" Hijikata asked witha hint of anger. "You shouldn't have waited for that idiot, to the point you'd get this ill!" Hijikata shouted at the fragile girl in his arms, but he immediately gets his composure back, when Kagura doesn't reply...not even once.
"Don't worry," Hijikata whispered as he wiped her forehead, then carried her in his arms. He immediately started running for the hospital. "I'll take care of you from now on.
[-]
"Actually, she was born with a heart disorder called Bradycardia, where her heart pace is slower than usual..." The doctor said, quite disappointed, but at the same time worried, seeing the state that the both teenagers were in. The doctor sighed, seeing Kagura shiver from the cold, as the rain silently tapped her window with sympathy and pity.
"But she will get better, right?" Hijikata asked worriedly as he held onto Kagura's frail hands.
"Well...It's currently unpredictable, because she is in a critical condition right now..."
[1 month later]
"Kagura, you're finally discharged," Hijikata smiled genuinely, but Kagura remained dull and silent, like an empty shell or a broken doll...Hijikata held her hand, and Kagura comes back to reality, after being dazed for a whole day.
"Hijikata-san...please, don't tell anybody about this," Kagura begged with a small and weak smile. "And, thanks for taking care of me for so long," Kagura said with an apologetic smile, and Hijikata was starting to get confused. "But, I don't want your friendship with...with Sougo to be awkward because of me, so you don't have to have any contact with me from now on," Kagura said, and Hijikata frowned.
"Aren't you being a little selfish? What if I want to be with you?" Hijikata said with determination, but Kagura shook her head. "No...Take care of Sougo for me," Kagura said with a lone tear falling from her blue orbs and a sorrowful smile appearing on her expression as she stared outside the window, displaying the sun rising from the horizon.
[-]
Sougo shook almost violently after hearing about what had happened a few years ago. His fists clenched and an obvious look of hatred and abhorrence towards Matako, and most of all, himself. Hijikata only remained in silent, apologetic to him that he's only told him now.
"But that was years ago, so you don't have to worry now," Hijikata said, retreiving the folder, when he realizes that Sougo was...crying...
[8 : 0 0 P.M.]
"Thank you, Gin-chan," Kagura simply said as she tiptoed to give Gintoki a kiss on his cheek, when Gintoki suddenly turned so that she kissed his lips instead. Out of embarrasment, Kagura blushed and weakly slapped him, while Gintoki laughed.
"I'm just playing with you," Gintoki grinned. He kissed her forehead, and Kagura silently blushed. 'So...cute,' Gintoki thought with sudden lustful eyes, seeing how Kagura was flustered by the kiss.
"Kagura...sleep with me tonight," Gintoki said, making Kagura frown with her face red like a tomato. "No. Not like that. Just spend the night in my apartment," Gintoki sweatdropped, trying to clear any misuderstanding form his sudden statement.
"O-Okay," Kagura blushed as she tugged his fingers, and Gintoki fondly smiled at the girl- at HIS girl in fornt of him. They went inside his apartment, but Gintoki didn't bother turning the lights on, but just letting the moonlight in from his wondow, which gave them a comfortable atmosphere. Gintoki lied down, while Kagura stood awkwardly in front of him.
"Then, I'll sleep at the couch," Kagura blushed, and Gintoki chuckled, quickly grabbing her by the wrist, and pulling her into the bed with him. Kagura only blushed more from his advances. "Gi-Gin-chan!" Kagura gasped sharply, but Gintoki only laughed mischievously.
"Relax. I won't do anything to you," Gintoki assured her and soothed her with his soft voice, and Kagura easily melts with just the sound of his voice. Kagura rested her head on Gintoki's arms, while she awkwardly lied down stiffly. "I told you to relax," Gintoki tickled her, making Kagura give in. "Okay, Okay!"
Gintoki rested his chin on her head, when he involuntartily sniffs her alluring scent of honey and vanilla. 'The scent...It's making my mind go numb,' Gintoki thought dangerously, for the smell was intoxicating, enticing, captivating and tempting him, as he stared at the soft and smooth nape of her neck. Quickly, Gintoki pecked it, making Kagura blush in place, but she didn't resist it. She only gulped.
Luckily, the scent was starting to drift him of to dream land. "Goodnight, my love," Gintoki said, and Kagura silently nodded