In the week that followed, Kagura found it increasingly difficult to be around Sougo for two reasons. The first one was fairly obvious, with the way their last fight had ended. Even thinking back to it made her go red and unable to formulate sentences in her head. It wasn't like her at all to get so flustered, but for some reason, even looking at him made her want to run away in the other direction. He hadn't brought it up in any way, and Kagura had found her umbrella and the black and gold bun covering left in a neat pile outside her door later that evening, which she could only think had been his doing. They still worked together during the day, but Kagura mostly spent her time avoiding his gaze, escaping to the Yorozuya whenever she had half a chance.
The second reason was something they had in common. The fact that they were both helpless in stopping the atrocities being committed in Rengokukan seemed to weigh heavily on both of them. Neither was mad at the other, but Kagura knew she was mad at herself for not being able to do more. Her father's orders were absolute, but she was finding herself torn between everything she had ever been taught, and what she knew to be the right thing to do in this instance. She could tell that it was bothering Sougo as well, since he'd swallowed his pride and actually asked her for help. It only made her feel worse that she hadn't been able to help at all.
"I hate it when stuff gets complicated," she complained.
"Then go solve your own problems, damn brat," said Gintoki, lying on the other sofa, reading JUMP.
Kagura snuggled into Sadaharu's fur and pouted at Gintoki in irritation, which he didn't notice. After nearly a week of having her crash his place during the day, he'd finally asked her what was wrong, and she'd spilled her guts about Rengokukan.
"If I knew how, I would," she said.
Gintoki sighed and glanced at her. "You know, here at Yorozuya, we do whatever you ask, right?" he said.
Kagura smiled at him. "I know, but this is dangerous," she said. "I don't want to drag you into it."
"Ah, isn't it nice to have a brat thinking of my well-being," said Gintoki, rolling his eyes.
"Someone has to," she said. "Shinpachi has enough on his plate already. Speaking of which, where is he? I've hardly seen him around all week."
"Otsu-chan is having a successful week of fights," said Gintoki, returning his attention to JUMP.
"That explains it," said Kagura, having only learned a couple days ago that Shinpachi was the captain of the Otsu-chan fanclub she'd seen.
"I'm back," they heard Shinpachi call as the front door opened.
"Welcome home," said Gintoki.
"Gin-san, I told you to at least get the vacuuming done while I was out," he said, frowning at Gintoki as he walked in. "Oh, hello, Kagura-chan. You still hiding from Okita-san?"
"I'm not hiding from him," she snapped, crossing her arms in irritation. She hadn't mentioned their fight to either Gintoki or Shinpachi because it was just too embarrassing, so they both thought she was hiding out because of the Rengokukan business, which meant they were half-right.
"It's alright to feel bad, but I don't think you should avoid him, Kagura-chan," said Shinpachi, nodding sagely. "Besides, I'm sure Okita-san feels bad about dragging you into it in the first place."
"Don't say that, I'll only feel worse," groaned Kagura.
Gintoki sighed and sat up. "Come on, Patsuan," he said, stretching his arms before getting to his feet.
"Are we going somewhere?" asked Shinpachi.
"I'm in the mood to see a fight," he said.
Kagura realised what he was getting at, and quickly stood up. "Gin-chan, you musn't," she said. "The Tendoshu are dangerous, and you'll have no help from the Shinsengumi if you get into trouble. You shouldn't get involved."
He ignored her and went to fetch his sword. Kagura looked dismayed, but Shinpachi smiled at her reassuringly. "Kagura-chan, that man was involved the moment he learned of the existence of a place like Rengokukan," he said. "We were trying not to get ahead of ourselves out of consideration for you, but neither Gin-san nor I can stand knowing that something so deplorable is happening in Edo. We know you and Okita-san feel the same, but you have other obligations that are preventing you from acting, and we get that."
"We are free to act," said Gintoki, finally. "Usually, I would stay away from this troublesome business, but Shinpachi and I can at least investigate this properly. I can't make promises about putting an end to it or anything, but we can get you some answers."
Kagura looked between him and Shinpachi, and then nodded gratefully. "Thank you," she said. "But if it looks too dangerous, please think of yourselves and get out."
"You don't need to tell us that," said Gintoki, placing a reassuring hand on her head as he passed. "Come on, Patsuan."
The two of them headed to the door, and as Gintoki slid it open, he was surprised to see Sougo standing there, about to ring the doorbell.
"Ah, danna," he said. "Is China around?"
"In there," said Gintoki, pointing over his shoulder at Kagura. "Fix your problems and lock my house before you leave it."
Without another word, he and Shinpachi left, and Sougo stared at Kagura. "What did he mean by that?" he asked, walking inside and closing the door behind him.
Suddenly realising she was alone with him in the house, Kagura glanced away quickly. "They're going to investigate Rengokukan," she said, instead. To her surprise, he chuckled. "What?" she asked.
"I was thinking of asking them about it," he said. "Maybe they'll be able to do something." There was an implied 'unlike us' that he didn't say but they both heard at the end of his sentence.
"I didn't ask them to do it, but I think they got tired of me whining," said Kagura, sheepishly.
"Is that why he said to fix our problems?" he asked, and Kagura wanted very much to disappear. "Look, China, if anyone here understands being held back by responsibilities, it's someone like me. Don't trouble your tiny brain any further over it."
"That's rich coming from someone with an even tinier brain than me," snapped Kagura, instantly feeling better now that he'd resorted to his usual teasing ways. It took her a moment to realise that it was the first time in a week that he'd teased her. She looked at him and saw that he seemed relieved as well, as if having Gintoki and Shinpachi investigating Rengokukan had eased his mind a little. "So, why were you here? Did you need me for something?"
"Besides work?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Come on, there's been a sighting of an extremist Jouishishi in the area and we're going to investigate."
"Fine, fine," said Kagura. "Bye, Sadaharu."
Sadaharu twitched in his sleep, and Kagura gave him a massive hug before she and Sougo left the Yorozuya. They had to spend the rest of the day following up on leads and investigating the Jouishishi, which kept them busy until well after the sun had gone down.
"I think we should call it, China," said Sougo, after they had exhausted their last lead for the day. "The inspectors will take over from here."
"Fine," said Kagura, itching for dinner and a bath.
They were about to head back when Sougo's phone rang. "Yeah?" he answered. Kagura stared at him as his expression grew grim. "Yeah, we'll go." He hung up the phone and turned to Kagura. "A man was murdered nearby, allegedly by a group of Amanto. We're going to investigate."
"Right," said Kagura. "Lead the way."
"Anything?" asked Sougo.
"The place was emptied out," Yamazaki reported. "It looked like he was fleeing with the children. Must have been in some money trouble. Those poor kids, though."
Sougo glanced at the playroom full of children, ranging in the ages of one to nine, all of them extremely subdued at the moment. Kagura sat with them, the youngest in her arms, two toddlers in her lap and the rest huddled around her in silence.
"Who are they?" asked Sougo.
"Orphans, we think," said Hijikata. "Yamazaki, do we know his name yet?"
Yamazaki shook his head. "The kids keep calling him 'sensei'," he said, and then looked worriedly towards the children. "Vice Chief, what's going to happen to them?"
Hijikata blew smoke from his lips and looked away. "They'll be sent to orphanages around the country, whichever ones have vacancies," he said.
"So, they'll be separated?" asked Yamazaki, dismayed.
"That's not our concern right now," said Hijikata, sternly. "Sougo, get Kagura to ask the children if they know anything else about our victim and if they can give us any details about the Amanto who killed him. The man looked like he knew how to fight, so it had have been a really strong foe who brought him down."
"Right," said Sougo, heading towards the playroom. As he passed through the hallway, a familiar mask in the corner caught his attention. He changed paths and headed towards it, realising it was the demon mask worn by Kidomaru in Rengokukan. "This complicates things," he muttered to himself, setting the mask down before going to Kagura.
She looked up when he entered, her eyes wide. "Do they know anything yet?" she asked, her voice hushed.
Sougo was confused for a moment but realised that a few of the children had fallen asleep, probably out of sheer exhaustion and grief. "No," he answered, lowering his voice too.
"They can't stay here, right?" she asked. "The killers might come back."
"If the killers wanted them dead, they would not have left them alive," he said, bluntly. She glared at him for saying it, especially when the few awake ones recoiled at his words. He sighed. "But they still can't stay here. We can't leave a bunch of kids to fend for themselves."
Kagura opened her mouth to ask something, but then changed her mind after seeing that some of them were awake and listening intently. "I want to bring them to the Shinsengumi compound," she said. "For the night, at least."
"We're not a daycare, China," he said, unsurprised at her request. For someone with all the skills of a killer, she was surprisingly maternal. It was a fact he had noticed since they'd attended the festival together, recalling how easily she got along with children and the way children of all ages flocked to her as if seeking a leader. Sougo would have thought it to be disconcerting but it oddly made sense for her character. At her imploring look, he rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll go talk to Hijikata-san."
She nodded quickly, and gave him a small smile before turning her attention to the children, assuring them in a hushed voice that everything would be just fine. Fortunately for him, when Sougo went to ask Hijikata, he told him that they would be taking custody of the children for the time being until arrangements could be made for them, which meant that the whole lot was brought to the Shinsengumi compound with them.
The troops were happy to help out, and China offered her own room for the children, so it had been turned into a makeshift bedroom for all of them. Considering the late hour, even the most alert of children were asleep the moment they were tucked into bed. Sougo wanted very much to go to bed himself, but Kagura cornered him before he could make his exit, and beckoned him to follow her out to the engawa outside her room.
"What?" he asked, fighting back a yawn.
"I saw the mask," she said. "I'm guessing you did too."
"Yeah," he answered. "We can't report it, though."
"We know it had to be the Tendoshu," she said, her voice low but furious. "I don't know why they would kill their own main fighter, but if there were Amanto involved, it had to be them. Not to mention, I saw the wound that killed him. It was delivered with a kanabo."
"You're being naive again, China," sighed Sougo. "The tie to the Rengokukan is obvious, but that just makes it even more apparent that we can't do anything. Even if I go and tell Hijikata-san everything right now, it won't make a difference. We'll be asked to drop the case, if not by Hijikata-san then by Totsan or someone from the Bakufu. And don't forget who he was, and how many people he may have killed."
"You seriously can't tell me you are okay with that," she said, crossing her arms. In the moonlight, her expression was teeming with fury and disappointment.
He glared at her for that remark. "You and I are in the same boat, China, or did you forget that?" he asked.
"No," she said, firmly. "I refuse. I don't care what my father says or what I have been trained to do. I saw the looks on those children's faces and I can't live with myself if I walk away right now."
"And what's your big plan then?" asked Sougo. "Are you off to take the Rengokukan on by yourself? Along with the Tendoshu, which will eventually bring the Bakufu down on your head too?"
She shook her head. "I have to do something," she said, her voice rising. "I know you are thinking it too."
He was, but he wasn't about to admit it. Least of all, to her. "You don't know anything, apart from charging in like a boar," he said.
She advanced on him, poised to strike and he went for his sword, but she appeared to change her mind almost immediately. "Do you have another solution?" she asked, sounding like she was holding back her anger.
He did, but he wasn't about to admit that either. Then he saw the way her hands were trembling at her sides, and realised that it was not anger that was making her look and sound like that, and he reluctantly decided to tell her. "We'll go see danna in the morning," he said, looking away. "We're in luck since Kondo-san is away for another day. If, and this is a very big if, we get the Yorozuya with us, we can deal a blow to Rengokukan without getting the Shinsengumi officially involved."
She looked torn at his words. "I'd hate to ask Gin-chan and Shinpachi to risk their lives for us," she said.
"Like I said, it's a big 'if'," said Sougo, shaking his head. "Go get some sleep. We'll see what we can do when it's morning."
Without waiting for her response, he left towards his own room through the courtyard, leaving her standing in the moonlight. Neither of them noticed two of the older children on the other side of the thin door who had heard their entire conversation.
"How did things end up like this?" asked Kagura, as she pummelled her way through five large Amanto, and flipped through the air, landing neatly next to Sougo.
He flicked away the blood from his sword and readied his stance once more as the two of them stood back to back, still facing a large group of enemies.
"I don't know, but I'm saying it's your fault anyway," he said.
The day had started out quite gloomy, literally and figuratively, as they went to Yorozuya Gin-chan. From Gintoki and Shinpachi they had learned that Kidomaru's real identity was Oshou Doushin, a former manslayer who had been slated for execution but had been rescued by the Tendoshu to fight in Rengokukan. He had adopted the children and was using his income to raise all of them on his own. The previous evening, he was about to take the children and leave Edo, but the Tendoshu had caught wind of his escape and sent people to dispose of him.
The matter was supposed to end there, particularly since Hijikata had caught wind of what Sougo and Kagura had been doing, and ordered them to stop. They had all been at Yorozuya Gin-chan when the children had come in, having followed Sougo and Kagura.
"How is this my fault?" demanded Kagura. "You are equally responsible."
"Fine, apparently we have a conscience and cannot ignore a sincere request made by children," said Sougo, slashing through the Amanto in front of him.
"Careful there, Sadist," said Kagura, as the two of them fought in perfect harmony, disposing of the Amanto that came at them. "You almost sound like you have a heart or something."
"I do have a heart, China," he said, and she didn't have to look at him to know he would be rolling his eyes.
"The pure black muscle that pumps sludge into your veins doesn't count as a heart," she countered.
"Oi, you two, I thought you promised backup," said Gintoki, as he and Shinpachi fought their way to them.
"Technically, Hijikata-san promised us backup," said Sougo. "If we die before then, we can collectively haunt him."
"Done. We'll start by taking that dog food of his away first," said Gintoki.
"And then we can dump water on him every time he lights a cigarette," said Sougo, a dark smile on his face.
"Maybe focus less on planning for the afterlife and more on fighting to avoid getting there," huffed Shinpachi. "You sadistic duo."
Fortunately, the backup arrived in the form of Shinsengumi troops led by Hijikata, and between their combined strength, the tide turned in their favour. Many of the Amanto fled or surrendered when they saw their numbers, and those brave enough to keep fighting were cut down quickly.
"Any sign of the Tendoshu?" asked Kagura, as she and Sougo stepped out of the way to catch their breaths as the rest of the troops went to work.
"None," said Sougo. "These were mostly just henchmen and a few of the idiots from the audience. The main bad guys got away."
"Yeah," said Kagura. "But at least Gin-chan got the one who killed Doushin-san." She glanced back to the body of the Amanto who had taken away the beloved sensei of all those children waiting back at the Yorozuya house. Gintoki had fought and defeated him single-handedly, fulfilling the promise made to the children to avenge their sensei's murderer.
"Will there be trouble for Kondo-san?" Sougo asked Hijikata, who had finished directing the troops and was now overseeing the arrests.
"Who knows?" asked Hijikata. "But I know he would have done the same thing in our place. Totsan will stand by him, if nothing else. The old man is half crazy but he's still a samurai."
Kagura hoped so, and she could tell by Sougo's face that he did too. She looked for Gintoki and Shinpachi, who were a little ways away, and they waved at her with a smile when they saw her looking. Excusing herself, she went up to them with a broad smile.
"Thank you," she said. "For getting involved when you did, and for everything else you did. If things go wrong, I'll take responsibility for you both."
"You don't have to do that, Kagura-chan," said Shinpachi, at once.
"It's alright," said Kagura, sincerely. "I thought that keeping away from this whole thing was the right thing to do, but it continued to bother me the entire time. It's only now that I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted off me, and I couldn't have done it by myself."
"Yes, you could have," said Gintoki, with a smile. "Give yourself some credit, Ms. Alien Hunter."
Kagura grinned at him. "Oh, and don't worry about the children," she said. "I will do everything I can to make sure that they are placed in good orphanages."
"That's good to hear," said Shinpachi.
"Oi," said Hijikata, as he and Sougo came up to them. "You two should clear out," he told Gintoki and Shinpachi. "If anyone asks, you were never here."
"Got it," said Gintoki. "Come on, Patsuan. We're done here."
Shinpachi bowed to them and followed after Gintoki, as the two left quickly.
"We're going too," said Hijikata. "The rest is up to Kondo-san now when he gets back tomorrow."
"That one only has three vacancies," said Hijikata.
Kagura nodded and set the papers aside. "If we send Takahiro and Renji there, and Misaki and Kumiko to that other one, they will still be close by," she said, consulting her list.
Hijikata nodded and struck off those four names from the list. "That only leaves the youngest," he said.
"Yukihiro," said Kagura, helpfully providing his name. "Misaki looks after him most of the time. We can send him with Misaki and Kumiko to the place with the three vacancies, and Takahiro and Renji can go to the other one that's near them."
"Yeah, this should do it," he said, looking through his list once more. "Those five were the last ones, so that's everyone."
"Yeah," said Kagura, stretching her arms.
It was the day after they had raided Rengokukan, and she and Hijikata had spent all morning in his office, going through the list of various orphanages with vacancies where Oshou Doushin's children were going to be sent. Fortunately, they had found a few orphanages in the same area around Bushu where Kondo, Hijikata and Sougo had originally come from, and the children were all being sent there. They wouldn't be in the same orphanage, but at least they would be in the same town.
"I'll get Zaki to call up the orphanages and give them the list of children who will be coming in," said Hijikata, gathering up the papers and putting them in a neat pile. "Can you go and make sure they are all packed and ready to go?"
"When will they be leaving?" asked Kagura.
Hijikata consulted his watch. "In an hour should be fine," he said. "The Fifth Division has volunteered to drive them to Bushu."
"Right, I'll go make sure they are ready," she said. "Has the Chief left already?"
"He did," said Hijikata. "Totsan showed up a little while ago and hauled him off to see the Tendoshu."
Kagura wanted to ask more, but she could see that he was anxious as well judging by how much he had smoked throughout their meeting. She left quickly, rounding up the children and making sure they all had their belongings with them. The hour passed before she knew it, so she saw them all off with Hijikata as they piled into various squad cars driven by members of the Fifth Division.
"I'll make sure they are all safely taken to their new homes," said Kannensai Takeda, the bespectacled Fifth Division Captain, saluting Hijikata.
"Safe travels," nodded Hijikata.
Kagura waved goodbye to the children, as the cars left the compound, headed for Bushu. She sighed, glad that they would still be near each other.
"Vice Chief," she called, as Hijikata turned to leave, presumably to return to his duties.
"Yeah?" he asked, stopping in his path.
"I was wondering if you had some time to spare," she said.
"For what?" he asked.
"To spar," she said.
He looked confused for a moment, but then shrugged. "Fine," he said. "I'll meet you in the dojo in ten minutes."
"Alright," agreed Kagura, and went to her room to get her umbrella.
She had two reasons to ask him to spar. The first was because she had never sparred with him and she was keen to experience his fighting skills firsthand. The second was because she wanted to thank him for taking time to do right by Oshou Doushin's children. He could have been dismissive and handed it off as it really was not part of his duties to oversee where the children were placed, but the fact that he'd taken time personally to do it spoke volumes about his character. She also knew that he would likely find it awkward if she thanked him directly, so she was planning to bring it up in a roundabout way while sparring.
There was a third reason, but she was trying not to think about it as she arrived in the dojo and found Hijikata waiting.
The two took their stances, and immediately Kagura could tell that his fighting style was completely different to a certain Sadist's. While Sougo took his stance very similar to the way she did like a coiled beast, Hijikata's posture seemed almost relaxed.
When they began fighting, she realised that it wasn't quite a relaxed stance but one designed for efficiency rather than force. While that meant Kagura had an advantage, she could see how his fighting style worked for him. He didn't expend more energy than needed, and his moves were disciplined and elegant in how efficiently he wielded his blade. There was nothing showy about his sword fighting, nor was he doing more than defending from her barrage of attacks and striking as soon as she left the smallest of openings.
Once she had gauged his initial style, Kagura began to push harder, and immediately, his style evolved to accommodate it. He expended more force in his attacks and his defence was as steady as ever. When Kagura switched it up to incorporate more of her brute brawler's fighting strength, he continued to defend without attacking and she was positive she would have him beat when he went on the offensive suddenly, his blows hitting with a scary accuracy, so much so that she had to be the one on the defensive and back off on attacks. It took her a moment to realise that he had been defending while understanding her moves and then he'd evolved his style to counter her moves specifically.
Sougo's style was much more powerful but his sword fighting technique was fixed, which Kagura supposed was because of him being a prodigy in Tennen Rishin Ryu. Hijikata's initial style was similar though he was not as strong as Sougo, but the more they fought, the more his style seemed to evolve as if to only counter the opponent in front of him. She remembered Kondo saying once that it was rare for Sougo to lose to Hijikata, and she could certainly see it. Even if Sougo's technique was fixed, he was extremely strong and fast, able to use even a rigid fighting style and make it his own.
Hijikata, on the other hand, seemed like he fought thinking he was only fighting his opponent once. It was a style befitting the demon Vice Chief of the Shinsengumi, meant to cut down enemies, not for sparring with them. Someone like Sougo would eventually learn how Hijikata would change up his moves and get ahead of him, but an enemy would be dead by Hijikata's hand before they could figure out the evolving style.
And yet, there was something in the way Hijikata fought that seemed eerily familiar to Kagura. She broke through his attacks and brought them to a stalemate before raising her arms to end the match. He nodded and lowered his sword, catching his breath.
"That was good," he said, a small smile on his usually dour face. "Usually only Sougo is a challenge to me. Well, him and that permed bastard."
"Can I ask about your style?" she asked.
"It's Tennen Rishin Ryu, same as most people in the Shinsengumi," he said. "I would have thought you and Sougo have fought enough for you to know about it."
"Not that," said Kagura, hesitantly. "I don't mean the sword fighting style."
"Then what?" he asked, looking slightly confused.
"It's very similar to what I do," she said.
"In what way?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Our fighting styles were completely different. If anything, the way you fight is closer to Sougo than me."
"Yes, in the way we fight using force," agreed Kagura. "But I also fight restrained. Like you did."
He looked a little startled but then shrugged. "We are only sparring," he said. "Of course I would be restrained."
Kagura shook her head. "No, it wasn't just for my benefit," she said. "Forgive me, Vice Chief, but I can tell what restraint looks like when fighting. That wasn't you holding back because we were sparring. Self-discipline is the only way that kind of restraint is cultivated in a fighter's style."
Hijikata stared at her stunned, and then slowly chuckled. "You are very perceptive, aren't you?" he asked. "This isn't normally what anyone can gauge after sparring once."
"It's not like that," said Kagura, lowering her gaze. "It's not an exaggeration when people call Yato beasts, you know. An unrestrained Yato is like a rampaging beast that only thirsts for blood and carnage."
"So Yato fight with restraint, eh?" he asked, seemingly interested.
"Some do," she admitted. "Most give in to their blood and are ruled by it alone."
"Have you ever done that?" he asked.
Kagura shook her head. "Never to the point of giving in completely to my blood," she said.
She heard him sigh and looked up. He had reached into his kimono for a cigarette, and he didn't speak until he had lit it and taken a long drag.
"I won't pretend to know how it is for Yato," he said, slowly exhaling. "But you're not wrong about me. I suppose it's just better for some people to be restrained because of what they might be capable of when unrestrained."
He didn't seem likely to expand on that cryptic statement, and as curious as Kagura was, she didn't wish to push him to talk. People's pasts were their own business and they should be only spoken of if the person was willing to open up, and it didn't seem like Hijikata was.
"Thank you, Vice Chief," she said, instead, and he looked at her in surprise. "For everything you did today, and for sparring with me."
"It's fine," he said. "You did as much as I did, and I was just doing my job so the thanks isn't necessary. I'm going back to work now."
"Right, of course," smiled Kagura.
He nodded at her and turned to leave, pausing in the doorway briefly. "You are strong and you have done well here at the Shinsengumi, Kagura," he said. "Keep that up."
Kagura stared at him in surprise as he left after that unexpected compliment, feeling herself blush. Hijikata wasn't the kind of person to go around praising people, so to have him acknowledge her skills felt like what she assumed getting a gold star from the strictest teacher in school must feel like. She was still standing in the dojo, when her third reason for sparring with Hijikata showed up.
"Oi, China, I was just looking for you," said Sougo, walking in. "Want to fight?"
Kagura froze, the memories of their last fight flooding her mind. She looked at him apprehensively, surprised to see him perfectly at ease.
"Right now?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm bored and I need some exercise," he said.
Kagura crossed her arms. "Uh-" she said, unsure of how she should respond. She had meant to think more about that last fight, particularly since she wanted to figure out why things had gone so weird with Sougo. Fighting Hijikata had been a test to see if she felt just as weird with him, but it had not even come close to the odd way she found herself feeling when fighting Sougo.
He smirked at her. "You scared?" he asked.
She glared at him. "You wish, Sadist," she snarled, forgetting all about the way her heart had seemed to pump molten lava through her veins the moment he had fallen on top of her during their last fight.
His smirk widened. "Those are fighting words, China," he taunted. "Do you actually plan on finishing the fight today or are you going to run away like the last time?"
"It was your fault I ran," she said, and then her eyes went wide when he grinned darkly.
"Oh?" he asked, clearly relishing the moment. "So you admit that you ran."
"Shut up," snapped Kagura, her face going red. "I'll only fight you if you promise not to do anything weird to me."
He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Sure," he said. "Though, I'm not sure what you mean by wei-"
Sougo stopped when they heard footsteps running towards them, and Yamazaki came into the dojo, and sprang into a salute when he saw them.
"What?" asked Sougo, apparently annoyed at the interruption.
"Pardon me, Okita taichou," he said. "But the Chief is back and asking for Kagura-san."
Kagura felt a pit in her stomach as she nodded woodenly. "I'll be right there," she said, and Yamazaki left with a quick nod.
"Go, I'll wait for you here," said Sougo, and then rolled his eyes. "And take that dumb look off your face." She glared at him, and he smirked. "That's better. Don't keep me waiting long."
Kagura made a face at him as Sougo walked past her and began stretching. She left the dojo and went to see Kondo, who was sitting with Hijikata in the main meeting room.
"You wanted to see me, Chief?" she asked.
"Ah, Kagura-san, thank you for coming in," said Kondo.
"Am I in trouble?" she asked.
Kondo laughed heartily. "No, not at all," he said. "The matter is settled. It's nothing for you to worry about anymore."
"Oh, that's good," said Kagura, relieved.
"Yes," nodded Kondo. "I called you in because Totsan gave me some news that I thought I ought to pass on to you."
"What is it?" asked Kagura.
"Well, Totsan wanted me to tell you that he received word from your father," said Kondo, beaming at her. "Umibozu-dono is coming to Edo."
Up next, it's the Umibozu Arc. Keep an eye out for it!