Yorozuya Side-Love Comedy: Futari no Sadists
Thank you very much for Gintama lovers among my subscribers who have been patient to wait the update of my first OkiKagu story. Without further ado, I present you the climax between Okita Sougo and Kagura! R&R
Chapter 6
"Thanks for the food, yes…" Kagura said as she put her bowl on the table. Gintoki, who was the only one who ate the dinner together with Kagura that night looked at his surrogate daughter's bowls, and surprisingly enough, he found that the girl did not even finish the entire content of the rice cooker. In fact, Kagura only took a single portion for her dinner, and she did not ask for seconds at all. After dinner, Kagura quickly went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, then she walked towards her room/closet.
"Goodnight, Gin-chan, Sadaharu…" Kagura said as she slid-close her door.
Gintoki only stared at the door to Kagura's room/closet before his gaze moved to the large white dog that was lying right before the room/closet. The said dog only gave Gintoki a look that, strangely enough, saying that the dog was worried, it asked what was wrong with the yato girl from the look in its eyes.
"Beats me, bub", Gintoki replied with a shrug. The dog only looked back at Kagura's room/closet again before retiring for the night as well.
The silver samurai gathered the dishes and he dumped them in the sink. After taking a few steps away from the sink, the man paused for a second before he returned back to the sink and started to wash the dirty plates and utensils. He was reluctant to wash his own dishes at first, but when he remembered that his girlfriend would berate him again about his sanitation, Gintoki chose to behave himself and did what he supposed to do when there were dirty plates lying around in the sink.
As Gintoki washed the bowls, plates etc, his mind trailed back to what happened to his surrogate daughter so far. As a matter of fact, it had been over a week ever since Kagura had her last fight with her rival in the park. Ever since the duo could not fight nor finish their duel properly, they had been avoiding each other whenever they were going out.
Ever since that day, Kagura was somewhat… behaving herself more a lot. At the first few days, everyone in Yorozuya was appreciating some peace and quiet from Kagura's 'mischiefs'. The girl still talked and seemed to enjoy herself when she was talking with her friends on daily basis. However, for those who had been around Kagura long enough, they noticed that Kagura did not even bother to eat her favourite sukonbu snacks, few of them could also notice that there was something in Kagura's expression, something that burdening the girl. The most obvious sign however, was Kagura's appetite. In her every meal, she did take a large portion but that's all. She did not even bother to ask for seconds, and this had confirmed everyone's suspicion that Kagura was definitely bothered by something, and the girl was doing everything she could not to let everyone finding out through her actions so far.
As Gintoki finished with the washing, he looked up at the blank space before him and let out a breath. He just noticed that his surrogate daughter did not finish everything in the rice cooker. He looked back at what had happened to Kagura so far. At first, he appreciated the fact that he wouldn't need to worry about his food budget when Kagura somewhat did not eat as much as she did before, then after a while, he could not help but worry over her.
He secretly asked around Kagura's friends, the women from the bar below, the Shimura siblings, and even Tokugawa Soyo. All of those people had known only one thing: Kagura had a boy issue. However, they could not provide a proper solution for her, considering that none of the women were in a relationship, and Shinpachi did not have much experience, not to mention his point of view could not be said as the same with Kagura. Obviously, Gintoki could not provide a solution either with his point of view as a man.
The man sighed at the problem. "Come to think of it, why the hell did I let that guy to take her out with him in the first place?" Gintoki thought as his mind trailed back to a certain sandy-brown haired police officer. The silver samurai just realised that everything had started ever since that particular date.
"I should have just followed him to his tax-robber's den if I know something like this would happen…" Gintoki rumbled as he ruffled through his shaggy hair.
X
On the other hand, at Shinsengumi headquarters, Hijikata and Kondou had found their first division commander to be… out of character. One day, Sougo just came back after his so-called patrol, which probably was him lazing around the town, and he simply spent the rest of the day without any sarcastic remarks, even towards Kondou or Hijikata. For the next few days, now every member in Shinsengumi had found that there was something wrong with the first division commander.
The first division captain woke up and arrived at the morning assemble on time, and he did not even try to annoy the vice-commander like usual. He attended his duty properly, which was at least kind of strange for the others, and the strangest thing was, he did not even use any form of abusive methods in conducting his duty as a commander, considering his sadistic streaks. Hell, he even did not pull any attempt to kill or even prank his hated vice-commander.
At first, Kondou, and Hijikata in particular were not worried about what happened to Sougo. In fact, Hijikata could appreciate some peace and quiet in the headquarters now that nobody from his own side would attempt to take his life. However, after few more days, Sougo's out of character simply unnerved him. Kondou, being a caring leader and all, speculated that Sougo was trying to take things off of his mind. From the subordinates' perspectives, while their first division commander was behaving himself, the look in his eyes said the opposite. Strange, he behaved like a high-ranking police officer should do while his expression was more sour and scarier than usual.
There was one time when one of his men made a mistake, Sougo simply waved it off while his face was muttering 'kill' over and over. In the end, everyone found Sougo's current state to be creepy.
Currently, Sougo was practicing kata with a bamboo sword inside the Shinsengumi's training hall, with Kondou and Hijikata secretly observing him swinging the sword from the entrance.
"Say, Toushi…" Kondou started a conversation. "What do you think?" the Shinsengumi chief asked his second-in-command.
Hijikata, who surprised that Sougo still did not attempt anything to his life, knowing what his commander was implying, did not turn to look at him while answering, "Beats me… But I can tell it has something to do with that girl from Yorozuya."
"Oh… That China, huh?" Kondou replied with an expression that he found something new and intriguing, mouth gaped in small 'o' shape and eyebrows raised. "Come to think about it, I did tell him to talk with the girl after I found him feeling out of it the other day. Did something happen, after all?"
"Whatever it was, it's definitely not good", Hijikata furrowed his eyebrows. "Let's just hope he can either get over it or settle this problem. Our hands already full with him being as usual. I don't want to imagine what will happen if he keeps this up", Hijikata said as he turned around, lighted up a cigarette and walked away. His body shuddered ever so slightly, imagining Sougo became crankier around the compound.
X
It was another peaceful day in Edo as Kagura was out for another stroll, this time without Sadaharu for various reasons. She simply looked around all sorts of people walking passed her in the Kabuki district, and her eyes fell on a couple, a year or two above her age, walking in arms while occasionally flirting with each other. Suddenly, her face flushed as a sandy-haired man came out to the picture.
"What the fuck!?" Kagura cursed in her mind. "Dammit, he keeps invading my innocence, yes!" she rubbed her forehead.
And speak of the devil, suddenly Kagura caught the sight of the 'invading man' among the crowds, still clad in his uniform walking casually across her. Before she knew it, the female yato was already tailing him.
At first, Kagura wanted to just avoid the man as much as possible, remembering that incident from the other day with him was still haunting her. However, Kagura could not understand why, despite her logic (no matter how different it is from others) kept telling her to go away, something inside her telling her to stay like this for a bit longer. The girl feared that she started to become like certain stalkers.
Meanwhile, at the two different places on Edo, Kondou Isao and Sarutobi Ayame suddenly sneezed, making their respective targets found out their respective hiding spots.
"Why the hell am I doing this?" Kagura asked herself as she kept herself hidden in any spot she found good enough.
Let it be known that Kagura was a complete amateur when it comes to romance-related stuff. When she came to earth, her initial purpose is to marry a rich baron that can fill her seemingly bottomless stomach and have a happy family, at least a happier family than hers back in her home-planet. The happy family part had been fulfilled when she met with Yorozuya, she found a good fatherly and brotherly figure, and she is happy for it. However, the marrying the rich baron part was the most difficult.
None of the earthling men managed to keep up with her black hole called stomach, some of them even terrified of her yato lineage. She thought Gintoki and Shinpachi as decent men, but she could not see them other than a surrogate father and brother. Given that Shinpachi was not her type of boyfriend material (no offence from her to Shinpachi), and Gintoki was too old for her. Plus, both of them just got their own girlfriends recently.
Kagura around that time still could not understand between parental love and romantic love, until she met him. Their encounter did not end too well, though Kagura had an unfounded impression that the man had a crush on her. However, after their meeting at Cherry Blossom party, she would always fight Okita Sougo whenever they had a chance. Their fight would always end up in stalemate for some reasons, and after day after day of constantly fighting and going through so many hardships occasionally, Kagura unknowingly found Sougo as an irreplaceable part of her life.
At first, she thought of her feelings just that of a heated, yet fun rivalry, but slowly she grew looking forward to see him more often. In each of their meetings, Kagura would learn new things from the man in one way or another and her opinions about him gradually changed for the better. And before she knew it, she really enjoyed her dispute with him. Even she would start to feel uneasy if she spent too long without meeting him. But still, whenever they met, they would do nothing but throwing strikes and insults to one another.
She thought that those days would keep go on forever, until that incident happened. Of all people, it was him, who had irritated her to no end, to have an audacity to grope her breasts. Perhaps it was because of the earth culture's influence, as well as her (perhaps) maiden side that made her believe that that spot should be reserved for the special one, and the bastard had claimed that spot. Thanks to him, after making her kept expecting him everyday, now she could not keep him out of her head. And her dream from the other morning was the last straw.
"I should've left him alone, yes!? It's not my business whatever that sadist is gonna do…" Kagura kept telling herself, yet her body kept following Sougo from a distance. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why can't I stop, yes? It's all his fault, yes!"
Later, Kagura stopped on her tracks as she saw the Shinsengumi captain was entering a flower shop. When the man purchased a bouquet, Kagura's eyes widened as she did not expect to see the man's expression to be considered as out of character, with his smile and gaze to be warm without any maliciousness or mischief in it.
X
Meanwhile, Sougo felt that he really should have someone to talk with. His vice chief was out of question, Saito Shimaru perhaps would do as he somewhat was a good listener, and his chief-in-command was definitely viable, but for some reasons he decided another course of action as he walked through Kabuki district towards his usual flower shop.
Let it be known that Sougo was only slightly more experienced than Kagura when it comes to romance related stuff, and in addition, he was also some sort of a siscon. Whenever Sougo had a trouble that he could not share with his comrades in Shinsengumi, he usually ran to his sister. Even after leaving his home-village to Edo, Sougo tends to write letters to Okita Mitsuba when he wanted to share something sensitive. However, ever since her passing due to her terminal illness, of course Sougo could not talk to her anymore, but whenever Sougo letting out his heart's content in front of Mitsuba's grave, he would feel somewhat much better. And that was what he was going to do, he purchased a bouquet of flower as an offering before he go visiting his sister's grave.
Before, Okita Mitsuba's used to be Sougo's only life ever since their parents left them behind. The caring, beautiful woman had become irreplaceable for her as time went by, and Sougo even attended sword practice in Kondou's dojo in order to be stronger and make her sister proud.
Upon entering dojo and learning swordsmanship, more people came to his life, Kondou Isao who he had come to respect and admire, Hijikata Toshirou who he had come to 'hate', and other men who later would be his comrades in Shinsengumi. However, his sister Mitsuba could be considered as the only woman that matters for Sougo, until he met her.
Sougo used to have women chasing after him, and he did not give a damn about them. However, a girl of yato clan named Kagura left a different impression on him. Never in his life he ever met a woman so… intriguing. She was naïve to the point of stupidity, yet compared of other woman who were willingly gave themselves due to his charm and status, Kagura always found a way to throw him out of the loop. Her feats during the Cherry Blossom party had caught his interest even more. Soon he found himself fighting the girl whenever he had a chance, and he enjoyed every single moment of it.
Perhaps it was because of her naïve attitude that made him having so much fun of teasing her. Occasionally, Sougo found her various reactions to be amusing when he talked to her. Later on, Sougo did not only find her to be amusing to tease, but he also found that Kagura had a similar trait that he admired so much from his sister: Endurance. As Okita Mitsuba never fell into despair and kept smiling radiantly and lived strong at the face of her illness and schemes of her now-dead fiancée, Kagura also preserved with her cheerful attitude in the face of her many adversaries. Before he knew it, the yato girl had become another irreplaceable part of his life.
At first Sougo thought it was only his dominator instinct to claim the girl as his, since he also had a degree of pride to put collars on many women before him. But after going through many battlefields together, Sougo only became more enamoured of the girl's strength and tenacity, thus making him wanting to learn more new things about her. He did not care about her lineage in the first place, but at the same time he also admired the humanity the yato girl tried to preserve as the girl made herself accustomed to planet earth's culture and society. And all of it had made his time with her more enjoyable, to the point that he would not find any joy if he were not to tease or agitated the girl for at least once every few days.
He thought those days would go on forever, until that incident happened. He whimsically wanted to spend more time with Kagura, only to be caught in a dangerous situation where he had a weakened super girl tied to him, fighting bunch of hooligans, and he ended up being stuck in an awkward situation with the girl. And to top it off, he groped the girl's breasts of all things.
Being a sadist himself, Sougo was quite 'experience' in teasing a woman's body. From time to time, Sougo would let out his pent-up frustration from work on women who were willing enough. Of course he kept himself from crossing the line as he is a proud police officer himself. However, when he accidentally touched Kagura's soft mound by his very hand, Sougo found himself getting flustered. And ever since that day he could not get her out from his mind. The dream he head in the other morning was his last straw.
Back to the present, Sougo was walking towards the cemetery with a bouquet of flower in his hands, as he planned to just sharing again with her sister, though he would not get an answer from the dead, this thing always worked out for him in terms of letting out his worries.
"Damn that China girl… Disturbing a police officer's duty like this…" Sougo thought. "It's really all her fault…"
It was perhaps a miracle that the first division commander of Shinsengumi did not even notice that there was a girl with vermillion hair was tailing him.
X
Kagura never thought in her life that the man she deemed as the worst man she had ever known could have such a kind and warm expression upon buying the flower. As she followed behind him, she pondered, where is he going? What are those flowers for? Are they for someone? He has someone?
"Why should I care if he has a girlfriend? But I'm kind of curious to see what kind of woman want to put up with that stupid sadist…"
The trip went on until both teens arrived at a certain complex. Kagura immediately realized that her target was entering a cemetery. She knew she was not supposed to pry into someone's personal matters, but her curiosity got the better of her as she also entered the cemetery, while still maintaining her distance.
She finally stopped and took a hide at the nearby tree when Sougo stopped in front of a tombstone with a name of 'Okita Mitsuba' was etched on it. The man kneeled down and placed the flower gently in front of the grave. Perhaps it was the cue for Kagura to leave, but she found her body did not want to move for some reasons.
"Ane-ue…"
That poked Kagura's curiosity once again. She once heard that Sougo had a sister but what intrigued her was, unlike despicable tone she usually heard from him, the tone he used when he addressed his sister was very gentle and the exact opposite he used to Kagura on daily basis.
"I… met someone." Sougo started to speak.
Now Kagura had become curious. Courtesy be damned, she wanted to know who was this someone Sougo was speaking of.
"She's… Handful, in more ways than one", he snorted.
"'She'? So he's talking about a girl, yes?" Kagura thought in comment.
"Um… Actually, this is the same girl I said to you last time."
"Hm? So that sadist's been talking about this chick, yes?"
"She's an idiot, un-ladylike, and only thinks using her fist most of the time. She always chewing sukonbu all the time."
"Wow, does a girl like that really exist? I'd like to know her. She has a pretty good taste for sukonbu, yes."
"Not to mention, she is a glutton, foul-mouthed and pukes occasionally. Really far from being a girl."
"Wow… I really want to see what kind of girl this is now, yes."
"She is a yato… And she sometimes helps around as one of Yorozuya…"
At this, even someone like Kagura could put the two and two together as her eyes widened and her face flushed in anger.
"Wha-! This asshole is talking about me, yes! What kind of man talking shit about other people in frickin' cemetery, yes!?" Kagura thought furiously as she tightened her grip on her parasol.
"She's strong." Sougo said something that Kagura was quite proud of. "And her strength and tenacity makes me want to meet her again and again."
Kagura almost snorted at that. Deep inside, the girl also enjoyed her dispute with him. "Well, I groped her breasts few days ago."
Now that statement just lit up her emotions again. Of all things Sougo had to bring up that incident. Kagura's face was red from embarrassment from that day and she clutched her hand on her chest.
"Honestly… While they're soft, those are still that of a brat…" Sougo said with a sneer.
Kagura believed she had enough. She was sure to give the man a good beating once and for all, respect for the dead be damned.
"But… the sensation from that time somewhat just assured me…" Sougo spoke again. "That… I really have fallen for her."
Kagura paused. Her lips pressed into a thin line as her blush intensified.
"Huh, now I've finally said it… While in front of you…" Sougo kept talking before his sister's grave. "Thanks for listening to me, ane-ue. Please keep on watching me…" Sougo stood up.
By the time Sougo bid his farewell to his sister's grave. Kagura had fled the scene. As she ran away from the cemetery, she kept clutching her aching heart as her face kept blushing and her tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Dammit… Dammit all!" Kagura cursed in her mind. "Why, of all things, he had to say that, yes!?" She kept running and running, as far as her legs could take her, as tears started to flow.
"Now what the hell should I do, yes?" Kagura thought up as she somewhat managed to arrive back at Yorozuya in that evening.
X
Couple of days later, in Shinsengumi headquarters, Sougo was sitting on the parch facing the courtyard. He was not slacking off, it was a rightfully earned rest as he had fulfil his quota for the day. He stared at the blue sky above as he recalled the past events. He had let out all of his heart's content in front of his sister's grave, and then what? Sougo was now at another stop.
"Should I tell her? Should I not? The things between us had already awkward already, but should I really?" Sougo suddenly thought up.
As Sougo contemplating himself, another person took a sit next to him, but putting a bit distance as well. "Aren't you supposed to work, Hijikata-san?" Sougo asked with neutral tone.
"Don't lump me together with you. This is my break time." Hijikata replied as he lit up his cigarette. He inhaled and puffed out a smoke before spoke again. "On the other day, I saw that you visited her again, didn't you?"
The sandy-haired man only raised an eyebrow at his superior officer before he looked away to the distance. "…Your point? It's nothing of your business, anyway…"
"Nothing really…" Hijikata blew out another smoke. "It's just I caught the sight of that Yorozuya girl ran away from direction of the cemetery, on the same day you visited Mitsuba."
Sougo's eyes widened ever so slightly at this. Then he quickly recomposed himself. "So? What are you trying to say?"
"Well… Nothing really." Hijikata said again. "Speaking of that Yorozuya girl, how are things with her?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because it's nowhere near her death or birthday anniversary, yet you went to her. It means you're in trouble." Sougo sent Hijikata a begrudging look. "Don't look at me like that. Everyone in the headquarters knows about it. Whenever you have a problem, you'll always go simply to talk to her."
"And so?" Sougo looked away again. "Like I said, it's none of your damn business. I have it under control."
"So there was something between you two." Hijikata concluded. "Well, if you have it under control, then I'll expect you to do your job properly from now on." He rose from his seat and took his leave. However, before he walked away, he turned back to Sougo one last time. "You should settle things with her when she's still alive."
Sougo only looked at Hijikata's back before clicking his tongue. He stared at the almost spotless blue sky, as the colour of the sky reminded him of the eyes of a certain Yato girl. Sighing to himself, the man decided to take a stroll, perhaps patrolling and beating up some petty criminals could help him venting out his stress for a bit.
X
Meanwhile, Kagura was accompanying Yorozuya at Yoshiwara since Gintoki had a date/work with Tsukuyo there. As the next part of the work was too delicate for Kagura's brute strength, Kagura was allowed to relax at Hinowa's shop while Gintoki and Shinpachi were finishing up. Taking one bite from one of dangos prepared by Hinowa, Kagura stared at the clear blue sky as things had been overwhelming her mind lately. Ever since her visit the cemetery, she could not forget the words that particular man said about her.
I really have fallen for her…
"How the hell should I face him from now on, yes?" Kagura muttered. The girl was, for the lack of better word, confused to no end. Her prideful side was gnawing her that if she were to encounter the Shinsengumi captain again, she believed that her resolve would waver, and she could not afford to see him her weak and pathetic side.
What Sougo said at the cemetery had caught her off-guard. Her heart raced so fast to the point that her chest felt hurt, her face felt hot, yet those feelings terrified her somehow. If he ever found out about her dilemma, Kagura did not want to imagine what kind of mockery and teasing he would throw at her. Sighing to herself, Kagura moved to take a sip from the tea to calm down when a woman took a seat beside her.
"Got somethin' on yer mind?" a woman clad in black kimono, had blonde hair and scars on her face asked with friendly tone as she inhaled her kiseru.
Kagura took a glance at the older woman before replying, "Tsukki…" Before she tried to smile. "Nah, I'm fine, yes… How's Gin-chan and Shinpachi doing?"
"They're doin' well. Hinowa's watchin' over 'em right now." Blowing a smoke, Tsukuyo smiled at the younger girl again. "So tell me. What's goin' on?"
Kagura went silent for a moment, after realizing that it was no use to hide anything from the Courtesan of Death, Kagura let out another sigh. "Can you… keep this from the others, yes?"
Tsukuyo raised her eyebrows when she noticed pink hue on Kagura's cheek. She nodded, and Kagura started. "Well…. Actually it starts from…"
(Scene Break)
The two girls fell into another silence after Kagura finished her story and Tsukuyo puffed out another ball of smoke. "What should I do now…?" Kagura asked with her gaze downcast.
"Beats me." The older woman replied bluntly, receiving a shocked looks from the younger girl. "In the end, the only one who can solve yer problem is none but yerself…." Kagura only looked away again.
Seeing Kagura's face, Tsukuyo smoked out again. "Y'know, before Gintoki and ma'self started dating, I… kind of went through what you're facing right now…" the woman looked up at the sky. "I was… afraid… When I realized ma' feelings fer him." Tsukuyo smiled at the memory. "But Gintoki… That dumbass showed me to embrace the present and not worryin' ma'self 'bout the future. The point is… Ya shouldn't worry over anything…" Tsukuyo looked over Kagura who was now staring at her. "Ya have us got yer back. We're friends, ain't we?"
Kagura cheered up a bit for the support, but the main question remained. "Then… If I have to face him… What should I do? What should I say?" Kagura asked again in worried tone.
"Just be yerself." Tsukuyo simply replied. "There's nothin' to fear. Besides…" Tsukuyo pointed at their friends: the odd-jobs, Hinowa and Seita, who were walking towards them, particularly at her boyfriend. "Some guys are just too dumb to understand words. We need to thoroughly beat'em into their heads…"
Kagura blinked, then she only snickered. She found the obvious answer for her. The girls giggled for a moment before Kagura finally stood up and her face seemed to freshen up. "Thanks, Tsukki." The older woman only smiled in return. When Gintoki and Shinpachi finally arrived, Kagura immediately prepared to leave. "Gin-chan, Shinpachi, I'm leaving first! You guys go home without me, 'kay?"
Then Kagura whistled up and Sadaharu appeared on cue. The girl hop onto the dog's back and the said dog quickly ran off. "See you later! Thanks again, Tsukki!"
"Good luck!" Tsukuyo replied. The men, Hinowa and Seita only gave odd looks, which only to be replied by a shrug by Tsukuyo.
X
Sougo was wandering across the streets of Edo. He had no particular destination, he simply let his legs carried him among the crowds. As he walked, he thought about the past events.
I caught the sight of that Yorozuya girl ran away from direction of the cemetery, on the same day you visited Mitsuba.
"Does it mean that she knew…?" Sougo pondered. But that was just a speculation. Just because the girl was seen coming from the direction of cemetery, it did not mean that she came from the cemetery. However, something in Sougo's mind kept telling him that the girl of his affection most likely heard about his 'heart-to-heart' talk.
"Shit… If so, what the hell do I do?" Sougo ruffled his hair in frustration. And then Hijikata's words ran across his mind.
You should settle things with her when she's still alive…
When Sougo thought about it. He remembered that Kagura is a Yato, a warrior race that serves as fighters and mercenaries in various kinds of battlefields. Unlike Mitsuba who succumbed to illness, what threatened Kagura are inevitable battles and wars that might take her life. Earth is relatively at peace, but it is just a matter of time until Kagura will have to dive into a bloody war. To make matters worse, Sougo recalled that the girl wished to follow her father on alien hunt across the space. The man had no idea how and why he ended up thinking to such a length, but nonetheless, those thoughts rather terrified him.
"Goddammit, China….." Sougo muttered. When he stopped, he realized that his legs had brought him to a park. Scratch that, not just a park, but the park. The park where he always spent his time with the Yato girl on daily basis.
Sighing to himself, Sougo continued his trek until he reached the centre of the park. He looked around, closed his eyes as he took in the peaceful atmosphere around. Suddenly, he sensed a presence, and when he snapped his eyes open, his eyes fell to the sight of a familiar girl in cheong-sam dress with a purple parasol. She was also accompanied by a giant white dog.
Kagura kept her resolute eyes on Sougo, as she ushered Sadaharu to leave them for a while. The dog complied and immediately ran off somewhere, leaving the two teenagers alone facing each other. Sougo quickly put up a front and stared at Kagura calmly. Kagura herself also looked rather calm for him, because she would have usually lashed out first. But this time, she simply stared back at him with impassive expression.
The two fell into an uncomfortable silence, and Sougo had no idea what the girl was trying to pull off. She definitely wanted something from him, but she did not say any words. Sougo's instinct told him that if he backed down he would forever lost. Finally had enough, Sougo decided to throw a bone.
"What….-!"
WHOOSH! CLANG!
And Kagura immediately charged at him. Sougo barely had enough time to use his sheathed sword to parry Kagura's parasol strike. He winced from the pressure, but he preserved as he pushed back and forced Kagura to leap back. Sougo was honestly surprised, usually the girl would have let him got prepared first before striking. However, just a second later Kagura had already dashed and put more relentless onslaughts on him.
While refined and did not seem to be blinded by carnage, Kagura's attacks were so fierce that Sougo did not have any time to draw his sword as he kept parrying strike after strike. Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Sougo managed to gain enough time and momentum to draw his sword when another strike from the girl. Now that he was properly armed, Sougo could go offensive as his slash managed to force Kagura to retreat once more.
Just when Sougo was about to ask what the hell Kagura was up to, he saw something unexpected from the girl. Kagura was smiling so wide it almost like a grin, but her expression was that of a child having fun, nothing like a mad warrior or a murderer; feral, yet innocent. When Sougo was still pondering of what actually was happening, Kagura showed him a rather mocking expressing, and she gestured her arm taunting him to come at her. A vein then appeared on Sougo's face and his eyes turned cold. Without a word, the man charged with his sword ready, and Kagura was also ready to retaliate.
The combat went on as the two ran across the entire park. Trees were cut down, flowers were trimmed, benches were crushed, and vending machines were damaged beyond repair. Amidst the chaos were a teenage man and a girl who seemed to aim for each other's necks. The man however, was rather diluted of the situation.
"Seriously, what the fuck is she thinking!?" he furiously thought in his mind. Kagura on the other hand, simply kept her feral, yet happy grin on her face as her movement did not seem to get any duller. "And why the hell does she look so confident!?" he could not help but wonder.
Her movements were powerful, more like a wind. Kagura felt her body was so light as if she was free to do anything, to show the man before him the answer she acquired. Sougo who was being cornered, was still contemplating about his female opponent. Suddenly, the thought about Hijikata's information ran before his mind. "Don't tell me…. She heard that?" now Sougo, out of his character, started to feel fear running through him. "And she's now angry at me?"
Sougo gritted his teeth as his prideful side would not let him to loose against her, no matter the state of his mind. "Stop screwing with me…. YOU LITTLE GIRL!" with that roar, Sougo countered one of Kagura's attack skilfully and Kagura was barely able to dodge it.
However, instead of showing a cautious expression, Kagura was laughing heartily as she took few steps backwards. "Mwahahahaha! Come on, sadist! Your movements are getting sluggish, yes! Is that all your sword's capable of? It's so slow, a fly could land on it, 'yes? You won't cut me or a fly with skill like that, 'kay?"
Sougo's irritation rose up even higher at Kagura's taunt. However, his refined battle skills had reminded him not to get agitated when your opponent got the upper hand. Taking a deep breath, Sougo fixed his stance before he charged again at his opponent. Thinking that her opponent had come with better preparation, Kagura only snickered as she readied herself for another clash.
The battle went on, with Kagura still got the upper hand, albeit not as good as the previous clashes. Knowing that his opponent's movement was somewhat more flexible, Sougo only got agitated as he was left no choice but to improvise himself. Sword and parasol clashed to each other, more destruction were occurred, but Kagura's happy expression did not change at all, as if she was released from a great burden, and she was joyful in a fight. Sougo was agitated, but every strike that was parried, every swing that almost hit, every attack that managed to score and knock her back, all of them made Sougo's heart beat even faster, and before he knew it, he was smiling.
"Why am I smiling?" Sougo felt his lip was twitching upwards. "Why am I feeling so excited?" Sougo felt the adrenaline rush running in his system. "And most of all… Why am I so happy from her smile? From this fight?"
When one managed to trick or outsmart each other, they will laugh, when one received a hit, they would goad each other to keep going on, in the end, one could see that despite engaging in combat, both fighters' faces were saying that they were having fun.
"Heh… So that's how it is…"
Sougo finally came up with an answer. There was nothing to worry about from the beginning. Even if there were, as they clashed and cross weapons, all their worries were blown away and replaced by adrenaline as they let out all of their heart's content. Two of them never need words to convey their feelings in the first place.
As they exchanged blows, insults, and laughs, Sougo found a chance as he managed to knock Kagura's parasol away. Seeing that the girl was defenceless, Sougo smirked as he did something (un)expected.
He grabbed Kagura's collar, and he pulled her to him until their lips crashed into one another. Kagura was surprised at the action, but she did not struggle as they maintained their position for few seconds. Even Kagura closed her eyes for a second there as she took in the feeling.
However, when they broke apart, Sougo was repaid by an uppercut right to his chin. He was launched to the air and landed hard on the ground, and he miraculously still awoke while his head and jaw hurt so bad from the impact. Shaking the pain away, Sougo saw that Kagura had retrieved her parasol and assumed her fighting stance again. "Read the damn mood…" she sneered. But she did not complain about the kiss itself.
Sougo snorted and after he stood up, the two dashed towards each other again with gleeful expression on their faces. That day, sounds of joyous laughter and destruction were heard from the park at Kabuki district.
X
Later in the late afternoon, Gintoki was walking around the district to look for his surrogate daughter, since she had taken long enough time to get home. When he arrived at the park, he met with the demonic vice-chief at the park entrance. The two stared at each other for a second.
"Looking for your little girl?" Hijikata asked, but his question was rather like a confirmation.
"Yeah…" Gintoki said after snorting a bit. Then Hijikata sighed as the two proceeded together inside the park.
After passing numerous destroyed trees, plants, fences, benches, and vending machines, both of them caught the sight of Sadaharu who was waiting for them with its tail wagging. Both men raised their eyes in wonder, then the dog barked as he turned towards a direction. Following the dog, both men saw something that made them groaned in a rather good way.
Sougo and Kagura were sleeping under a tree that miraculously spared during their showdown. However, it was not their ruined clothes; or dusts, bruises and small cuts that adorned their bodies that caused their guardian's reactions. It was that they were leaning on each other's shoulders, their faces were peaceful, and most of all, their hands were clasped together and their fingers were intertwining with each other.
On their laps, a chipped sword and a ruined parasol were crossed lying on top of each other and both older men could not help but snorted when two sadists were snuggling into each other's warmth.
FIN
The end! What do you guys think? At this point I finally realized that fluffy romance is still a field I need to work on, so please don't be too harsh in your reviews! Ahsoei, over and out! m(_ _)m