I am Sougo Okita.
Captain of the Shinsengumi First Division.
18 years old and I've finally found a girl that I need to protect...
A Weak Beast made out of China
OkitaxKagura
~2~
Somewhere within the Shinsengumi Police headquarters, a cell phone rang.
"What is it, Sougo? If this is a prank call I'm gonna hang up," was the immediate words that came in an irritated, husky low voice.
The Hijikata Toushiro -the demonic vice commander- was already in a foul mood because he knew that whenever that Okita Sougo called, it would never be anything good 99% of the time, because he was the sadist who only had sadistic thoughts fueling his brain to get it to work, instead of Oxygen, always thinking of what to do next to pull a prank on Hijikata.
"Hijikata-san..."
Sougo's voice sounded unusually serious.
"What?"
Taking out a new cigarette and putting into his mouth, Hijikata irritatingly waits for what Sougo had to say.
It was going to be another one of those extremely idiotic things that Sougo would always come up with, and only just for the purpose of annoying his target: Hijikata.
He lit his cigarette and waited for the other end to speak.
"...The Yorozuya boss has died."
"What kind of joke is this, Sougo? You want me to slice you into bits?"
Hijikata put on a wry face and tried to keep content with his anger management, but of course, feeling his limit after such a long day, stressing day like his usual, having to do all the paper work that was still yet to finish, sitting neatly upon his desk, waiting for his return.
He really didn't have the time to be playing along with Sougo's pranks right now.
Sougo... He really doesn't know when he's crossed the line when it comes to his sadistic pranks...
"...haha. More paper work for you, Hijikata-san. Bring a few teams over, I'm counting on you," Sougo dryly joked, and informed the place before cutting off soon after.
What, you already figured that it was a prank call? That's no fun! Was what Hijikata had been waiting for, and without it, he still couldn't believe Sougo's words and just stared hard at his now disconnected cell phone.
But Sougo's voice had been weary and grave.
If he was acting it, he was doing a really good job at it.
But being with Sougo for so long, he knew when Sougo was serious, and this phone conversation told Hijikata that this was that 1% when Sougo really was being serious.
That Yorozuya died? Impossible!
That was what crossed Hijikata's mind as he climbed into his police car and started the engine.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Sougo's words... well, he never really trusted anything Sougo said, but asides that for now...
Hijikata just had to see it with his eyes before that fact actually sunk into his mind.
Flashes of red light lit across the area and the black Shinsengumi uniforms multiplied and diversified as they reached the crime scene, getting out of their vehicles.
Every member had shock written across their faces, as the infamous Yorozuya members lay still in a sea of blood.
Hijikata gave an order to take care of the dead and search the area to figure out what on Earth actually happened.
He then noticed that Sougo wasn't around, but just as he noticed that fact, he spotted him walking his way from the direction of the river, carrying a small girl in his arms.
Soon, all the other soldiers' eyes were set upon the small, fragile China girl in Sougo's arms, the scene making everybody stop what they were doing and just stare at the two silently, none voicing out their thoughts since they had none even to begin with.
Same was said with Sougo as he too, walked mutely towards one of the vehicles after having one strong eye contact with Hijikata who nodded understandingly and got into the driver's seat, ready to take him and the girl back to the headquarters.
Exhausting herself from crying, Kagura had fallen asleep in Sougo's arms.
Sougo's uniform jacket was lightly draped across her small shoulders that was looking heavily oversized for Kagura, making her look much more smaller than she was.
Hijikata glanced at her a few times while thinking of the many scenarios that could have had happened to her, trying to figure out an explanation for how this chaos had happened and what had caused the China girl so beaten up like this.
Unconsciously, Kagura's pale hands trembled while grasping tightly onto Sougo's front.
From her closed eyelids, yet again, tears started slipping away, sliding down her already tear-stained cheeks.
Even in her unconsciousness, she seemed to feel the fear and solitude.
Exactly the things Kagura wanted to be free from.
She so strongly wished for them to go away, even if she was to discard some important things along with it.
Just as long as she can escape from this pain...
I'm sorry everyone... But it's too painful.
I can't bear to be all alone again... I can't stand the sadness...
Please let me disappear...
Along with these painful emotions, I want to disappear all together...
Forgive me...
Those were Kagura's thoughts while she sat on Sougo's lap, not knowing how worried Sougo was.
And Sougo, didn't have the slightest idea that Kagura was thinking such things, and that her existence slowly starting to fade and disappear right from within his arms...
On a bright morning the early sun rays gently brought an innocently sleeping girl back to consciousness.
Slowly those eyelids rose and revealed the pair of blue jewels that were hidden behind them.
Those eyes set upon the first thing they saw, which was a mop of chestnut brown hair.
And hidden beneath the shadows of it, was a soft, relaxed look of a sleeping face, containing beautiful long lashes and smooth lips that were slightly apart.
But those features were gone in a flash when the consciousness broke through and distorted for a second before the two were soon in a situation where they just stared blankly at each other in silence for a good few minutes.
"...ohayo"
Sougo broke the silence and waited for Kagura's reply, but received none.
Not even the slightest reaction was given back to him, as if he was greeting a still doll.
"What, I thought you'd scream and send me a punch or two... but you're not even giving me a single word..."
Those said words made Kagura realize her current situation, of which she was lying in the same laid futon (*Japanese mattress and duvet) as Sougo.
"I didn't do anything to you. Yesterday you wouldn't let me go so this is how we are right now," Sougo explained before he really got a heavy blow from the beast-strength girl.
It was a fact though, because Kagura was grasping onto Sougo as if it were her lifeline, so when he laid Kagura on his futon, he himself lay on top of the covers and watched over her, but found himself drifting off to sleep as well.
But again, Sougo received nothing.
And what's more, she didn't even show the slightest pained expression or sadness which made Sougo assume that she was still confused after everything that happened, and needed time to get back her memories back and understand her situation.
He waited for the heavily pained expression of hers that he didn't want to see, and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth for that time to come.
But when silence was the only thing that came back no matter how long Sougo waited, he peeled his eyes open to see the slightly surprised, slightly curiosity-filled face of Kagura's and he then finally found something off about her, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Nevertheless, Kagura had woken up.
Sougo had to tell that fact to Kondou-san, so he slowly stood up.
"I'm gonna go tell Kondo-san that you're awake now," Sougo said and stepped a foot out of the room, when he finally got a reaction from Kagura for the first time.
It was a very small movement, but Sougo saw it clearly.
The innocent blue eyes of hers had looked slightly frantic as Sougo had moved away from her.
I don't know this weak, fragile girl...
This isn't that girl I know...
Before Sougo's eyes, Kagura looked like a complete stranger to him.
She wasn't the Kagura he knew at all.
With her like this I can't even turn on my sadistic mode and I can't say anything that might cross the line.
I don't know how to handle these types of girls...
But this girl... what the hell is she thinking anyway?
I can't read her mind...
Sougo then reminisced Kagura's voice that rang in his ears that night.
"Don't get yourself all concerned about me...you can just leave me alone."
"Do I...scare you?"
That question she asked with that fearful expression, afraid of the answer that I was to give.
Normally Sougo wouldn't give a damn about another's feelings, but somehow Sougo suddenly felt he knew what Kagura was feeling right now.
"...do you want to come with?"
As soon as Sougo tested an offer, Kagura quickly and rushed over to Sougo's side as if she thought that if she was too slow, she would get left behind.
Sougo raised a brow at how quietly Kagura had rushed over to his side with barely a sound made, while if it was the Kagura he knew, she would've made a racket with just that movement. But asides that...
Just as I thought... you're afraid of being alone...
Sougo's brows furrowed for a fraction of a second, before he started walking down the corridor, Kagura followed closely behind and not missing a step of rhythm with Sougo's footsteps, like a shadow.
Testing her out, Sougo stopped his feet in the middle of the corridor, and as predicted, Kagura also perfectly stopped in time without bumping into him.
When he started to move forward again, Kagura follow without delay.
Kagura was only a fair amount shorter than Sougo, but to him, this Kagura felt like a young kid with a height that only came up to Sougo's waist.
After turning the last corner of the corridor towards Kondo-san's room, Sougo heard voices of Kondou-san and Hijikata, and the atmosphere somewhat serious.
"Ah, Sougo. How is that beast-strength girl?" asked Kondo-san, looking seriously concerned.
"Oi, Sougo. You left her all alone and came here?" Hijikata demanded and Sougo bent his brows.
What the hell? Is Hijikata-san's eye balls made out of hardened mayonnaise? I am definitely not going to admit that he's our vice commander!
Without answering the question, Sougo just stared at Hijikata, and to that, Kondo-san also pipped in.
"That's right, Sougo! Even if she was a rivalry existence to you, you shouldn't leave such an emotionally unstable, fragile girl all alone!"
By that, Sougo's eyes widened.
"What are you saying, Kondo-san? If it's that girl, she's right-..."
Huh...?
When Sougo looked behind his shoulder, Kagura was no longer right behind him, but right behind him.
Kagura had closed the small distance she had with herself and Sougo so that she had hidden herself from the other two's vision with Sougo's body.
She stuck close to Sougo's back and had both hands grabbing onto his back for secure.
With this, of course the other two couldn't see.
Sougo raised his arms, Kagura's face exposed a little, which made Kagura hurriedly shift her head behind Sougo's back, but the other two didn't miss her.
"Oh! Um... What was her name again?"
Kondo-san tried to start a conversation with her, but cut off and whispered an SOS question to Hijikata.
"Uh...I don't know..."
The demonic vice commander answered in a low, husky voice, and Sougo found his moment of being able to switch onto 'sadistic mode'.
"Leaving aside Kondo-san, your brain really seems to be made out of mayonnaise, Hijikata-san. If you can't even memorise one girl's name, you should be disqualified as a vice commander. Don't you agree with me, Kondo-san?"
" 'Brain made out of mayonnaise'? Well, if you top up mayonnaise on top of mayonnaise without losing balance, you can't say it's not similar looking... no, stop kidding around! Are you playing with me, huh! Don't use me as your butt of a joke! And plus, do you even have the right to say that to me! Do you yourself even remember her name, Sougo!"
Behind the howling mad-dog Hijikata, Kondo-san was making his own dark and depressing corner in the room, becoming extremely gloomy as he was mumbling to himself, "'leaving aside'? What do you mean 'leaving aside'? Am I that unimportant and insignificant? Most of the main characters are gone and I'm still that insignificant?"
But completely ignoring the heavily depressed commander of Shinsengumi headquarters, Hijikata and Sougo stared hard at each other.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Sougo raised an arm and talked to the hiding china girl.
"Tell these two idiots what your name is."
"See! Even you don't remember!" the demonic Hijikata pointed out in rage.
"Hm?"
Sougo looked somewhat confused as he found the girl sitting down by his feet behind him like she had tired herself out.
Extreme energy deficiency?
Kagura tilted her head to one side looking quite surprised at Sougo.
Why is she tilting her head?
"Hey, your name," Sougo said again, but no reply.
...
"…you do remember your name, right?"
Kagura looked very confused and Sougo found that his unwilling thought was right.
"…you don't," Sougo quietly stated the answer for Kagura understandingly.
Sougo could no longer hear the wailing of Kondo-san anymore as he crouched before Kagura to level his eyes with her.
"Your name… is Kagura."
With a softened face expression and voice, that was what Sougo said to the small china girl.
So he knew…
Hijikata brought out a cigarette and lit it as he watched Sougo and Kagura.
"Kagu…ra?" she stuttered out her name in a quite voice with a somewhat blank face.
With a sound that seemed like it tried to say the name for the first time, Sougo confirmed that she remembers nothing.
Nothing at all…
The sky is blue and the birds are chirping, it can be no perfect a morning, yet to Sougo it looked and seemed very distorted.
"Kondo-san… I think she has memory loss. I don't think we can ask her anything about what happened to her or the others…" reported Sougo to Kondo-san while his eyes never left Kagura's.
"In such a devastating disaster, it's not surprising if that was so," Hijikata commented.
"No… It's not how you think…"
With a slightly lower tone than usual, Sougo mumbled out those words which made Kondo-san and Hijikata stare at each other having know clue what Sougo had meant, but Sougo didn't continue with the explanation.
He just stared at the small-animal-like china girl who couldn't even tell that those words were about her or if it was even a depressing statement and she still had that blank face, free of any hurtful emotions building within her that made Sougo stare towards her with saddened and somewhat pitiful eyes.
How much she must have blamed herself and carried the entire burden upon herself, trying to withstand the suffocating pain and sadness before she could no longer take it that she wanted to cast everything aside, even if it took all her memories away, made Sougo feel in pain as well.
He, who never really cared about other people's pain until now, suffered to see Kagura's blank face and that pulled his heart strings more than it should have.
The other two felt the atmosphere becoming a bit heavy and Kondo-san tried to lighten it up.
"Well anyways, for now beast stren- I mean Kagura-chan will be under your care, so we'll be counting on you, Sougo!" Kondo-san brightly stated which broke Sougo from his trance and made him whip around to the owner of that voice.
"No way~!" Sougo protested looking heavily annoyed.
"I don't want to do it, Kondo-san. Why do I have to do the baby-sitting?"
I did think that I wanted to protect her…but
"I won't accept having to baby sit her 24/7!"
