Kebchii says: I've got a lot of excuses in mind but I don't think that would do any good nor would change the fact that I updated so late. So, I'll just go and wash the dishes while you guys read. Carry on, carry on.
Disclaimer: You all know I don't own anything... 'cept maybe this brand new keyboard I bought yesterday.
Summer Heat
Kebchii
The vast blue ocean caught Kagura's attention and Sougo couldn't be more thankful. Although he had told her to relax and relax she did, she still sent blows at him whenever she felt that they were much, much in contact with each other. Sougo decided to let it go. Kagura was too caught up at the scenery that she didn't even realize her arms were clinging onto his shoulders for her to get a better view.
Shinpachi's loud voice snapped them both and they turned their attention to the front of the vehicle. "Ah, Gin-san! That's it, right? XXX Resort."
Sougo inspected the sign on the opened gate and sure enough they've come to the right place.
Gintoki paused at a booth just after passing by the entrance. He nodded at a staff member. "Good day, sir," the staff greeted before peeking further at Gintoki's window then started to count.
"Whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" Gintoki asked, interrupting the guy from his task.
The guy turned to him and smiled. "Oh, I'm just counting the heads, sir, so we can work on your entrance fee."
"What? What entrance fee? I didn't know any of these entrance fee stuff. How much per head? Is there a difference between a child's and an adult's fee? If so, how much for ages 1-27?"
"Uhm, sir. Ages five to twelve have fees for three hundred yen. The rest is five hundred."
"What about ages below five?" The perm-head quickly asked.
"Free of charge, sir."
Gintoki immediately turned to other passengers, particularly at the back. "Well, I sure am glad to have toddlers on board." Kagura immediately sucked on her thumb and acted like she had no idea of the world around her. She elbowed the boy beside to do the same. Although his gut ached again, he did his best to do a facepalm.
The staff guy sweat-dropped at their antics. "Uh, sir. I am certain that the girl is no-"
"What are you trying to say? Do you not see the innocence that she radiates around her? Boy," Gintoki laid a hand on the poor guy's shoulder through the window. "She just had her fourth birthday yesterday."
"Sir, I'll have to-"
"Staff J-san, is everything all right?"
Gintoki breathed a sigh of relief and leaned comfortably on the window of the van while Staff J-san abruptly turned around, "Tsukuyo-sama!"
Katsura ran over to the veranda of the cottage with Elizabeth. He read as the other held up a sign. "What a wonderful view."
Katsura nodded. "The cottage is actually near the beach. We can go there anytime. As a matter of fact, we can go there now!" he exclaimed and both jumped over the railing of the veranda and skipped to the waters.
"Oh my," Otae said in delight, "I didn't know you own this resort Tsukki."
Tsukuyo shook her head, "I don't. I'm just working as a manager here." She smiled at the sight of Kagura fighting over a treat with a flaxen-haired boy.
"Come on, you sadist! Give me that so I can go and play with Zura!" Kagura's words, however, were of no use as the boy simply pushed her away from him and started munching on the treat.
"Is the pool far from here?" Sougo asked.
Tsukuyo shook her head.
"We can go there later if you really want to," said Gintoki as he entered, Hijikata and Kondo followed from behind and had just finished unloading their things.
"Not really," Sougo muttered and flinched when Kagura slapped his upper arm in irritation. She glared at him and he smirked back.
"Whatever. I don't want to waste this perfect day on you." Kagura stomped off, dragging both Otae and Kyubei with her.
Sougo just remained silent and watched the three go out.
"Uwaaa~" Kagura reveled at the sight of the vast blue ocean. It was so much beautiful up close. She took off her flip-flops and grinned at the feel of the soft warm sand beneath her feet. Feeling all giddy, she dragged the two women again with her to the waters.
"Oi, Sougo. Your nose is bleeding," Hijikata nonchalantly said. Seriously, the boy was too easy to read. He couldn't blame Sougo, though. Not when the China girl was frolicking around in a two-piece bathing suit. One thing Hijikata failed to notice, however, was the fist coming towards his face. No contact has been made yet but he had known the bastard sadist aimed for his nose. Pain exploded from the blow he got and he swore his nose turned on a ninety-degree angle.
"Oi, Hijikata-san, your nose is bleeding as well." Sougo wiped the blood off his nose with the back of his hand as Hijikata shouted curses at him. He glanced back to the vermilion-haired girl. Damn that China, he thought as he glared at Kagura, when the hell did she start growing out boobs?
He wasn't able to ponder on that matter for long as an announcement was made. Speakers attached on posts blared as the announcer spoke. "Good day, everyone! The annual Beach Volley Competition will start soon. Interested pairs are encouraged to join. Just head on to the sherbet stand for more details. Remember, the grand prize is an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet for dinner tonight! Get wet, have fun; God Bless everyone!"
"Hooo!" Kagura enthusiastically turned to Shinpachi. "Pachi! Did you hear that? All you can eat!"
The boy responded with equal enthusiasm."Yeah! Let's go and register to the sherbet stand."
"Gin-chan, you, too! The more number of entries, the more chances of winning!"
Gintoki rolled his eyes."You sound like a promoter girl. I don't want to." He had already expected she would ask why. "Two reasons. One, I just don't want to. Two, because of number one."
"Kyu-chan, would you like for us to join, too?" Otae asked.
Kyubei shook her head. "I don't know how to play the sport."
"Otae-san! Let's pair up!" Kondo exclaimed as he jumped and attempted to capture the love of his life. He knew it was coming. He knew it was coming and yet he didn't make a move to avoid it. He really didn't know why. Perhaps because it was the only way they could ever make contact. And so, the fist of the woman he loved came in contact with his face and he was left for dead.
Kagura shrugged. "Suit yourselves." She and Shinpachi headed to the sherbet stand and saw there were actually a number of people who wanted to play.
"Wait, Kagura-chan. Do you even know how to play?" Shinpachi asked as Kagura lined in queue.
"Isn't it just the same as volleyball? We had that in our P.E. class so don't worry."
"Oh, I think you should really worry." Kagura turned to her side and saw Sougo smirking at her. Hijikata was with him.
The female tutted in annoyance. "I didn't know you'd have the skills enough to be joining this."
Sougo ruffled her hair and she slapped his hand."There're still a lot of things you don't know about me, China doll."
Kagura did her best to stay where she was and watched the sadist advance in his side of the line.
Moments later, Kagura and Shinpachi were able to successfully register. The grand prize kept them on their feet as they met various kinds of players. Kagura's powerful spikes and Shinpachi's exactitude on finding other people's weaknesses also helped.
However, there was one thing Kagura wanted more than the grand prize and that was facing Okita Sougo and defeating him. The competition was done in a single-elimination method and his team had already topped the other group. She glanced at her side. There stood a blonde boy and beside him looked like a friend of his. That pair was their next opponent. If she and Shinpachi beat this pair, then they will surely face the sadist and Mayora.
"Why the face, China? You worried you're gonna lose?" Blazing blue eyes turned and glared at deep red ones. Although her eyes were filled with ill-intention, he was chuffed it wasn't directed at some blonde fool. Sougo ruffled her hair and she responded with a slap on his hand and a 'Stop doing that!'
"I'm the only one who's allowed to beat you, China," Sougo stated before walking away.
Kagura frowned. Stupid Sadist.
The sun bit on Kagura's skin but she thought nothing of it. She held the ball and prepared her service. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the ball flying towards the opponent's side.
Kagura watched as Touyu, the blonde-haired boy, return the ball with a spike. Shinpachi barely caught the ball and it ended up landing on the sand. The opposing team had won the second set.
"Dammit," Shinpachi muttered as he watched Touyu wave smugly at his fans. He and Kagura had won the first set, but now with the other team winning the second set, they will have to do a breaking point. Whoever gets to do 15 points first will win.
"Pachi, how are we going to beat them?" Kagura demanded. "The two of them are really good."
"Aside from the fact that Touyu-san is a first-class ladies-man, I've got nothing." Shinpachi looked at the brunet who was smiling at everybody. "His partner, Yuuto-san, seems like an easy-going person, like an all-rounder." He shook his head. "They really are good."
The game went on as both teams struggled for dominance. When a team scored a point, the other scored back. In the end, the score was 14-14. The referee whistled for a break and Kagura flopped down on a chair. She sighed, exhausted.
A sudden coldness on her cheek made her jerk and soon realized it was a bottle of water. She took it, thinking it was Shinpachi, and looked up. It wasn't the megane, though.
Sougo continued to drink his own beverage silently. He barely heard her mutter her gratitude. It didn't matter, really. As long as she beats the blonde bastard, it was fine.
When the match started, Kagura tried not to put any meaning behind what the sadist did. The match was more important. She stared at Touyu who was holding the ball. It was the other team's time to serve. She mentally fumed as she watched Touyu smile, wink and wave at a female audience. Conceited jerk, she thought in annoyance. Then an idea hit her.
Touyu smiled confidently as he raised the ball higher and was ready to make a spike when he heard a cute voice call out his name.
"Touyu-san~!"
He soon realized it was the girl from the other side of the court. He almost had an overflowing nosebleed from the sight in front of him. She winked and was bent towards him, giving him a view of her chest area. Distracted, his slap on the ball had little force and he watched in horror as the ball bounced back from the net.
"Oops," Kagura muttered innocently as the referee hand-signaled their win. She turned to her partner, who looked at her as if he knew nothing of what just happened. Everyone else didn't seem to notice her little trick.
When it had finally sunk in, Kagura grinned at the thought that they were one step away from winning the grand prize. Remembering who they were going to deal with next,she searched the crowd for the familiar flaxen-haired boy with the bloodshot eyes. Kagura found him and was expecting a smirk or a frown; instead she was met with an icy cold glare.
The grin on her face dropped as the boy continued to glare at her. Sure, she had received a lot of glares from him before but nothing like the one he was giving her now. He would glare at her out of annoyance or irritation, maybe, but never so serious to the point that she's believe 'looks could kill.'
Kagura watched in utter confusion as Sougo simply turned and walked away. What the hell?
Let's just say Kagura doesn't have her usual Yato attributes like being vulnerable under the sun. Also, I'm not that familiar with the sport, so you'll have to excuse any errors.
Edited 2017.