Chapter 9: Sadistic Husband vs. Sadistic Brother

Hellooo: Thank you so much for your review! I'm really delighted to hear that it excited you! I have a really wild imagination myself and I love to see what comes next in my mind too! I hope this chapter fulfills your expectations and that you enjoy reading it!

nathan19bane: Thank you so much for your review! I was relieved to hear that my clumsiness at writing fight scenes didn't bother you. It really surprised and pleased me to know that you liked the line, even though I just typed it on a sudden spur of the moment. Hope you like this chapter too!

Hirude: Thank you! I'm really happy that you find the story well written and the plot good, I'm always worried about whether it is good enough, . Thank you for the support and hope you like this chapter too!

Akely: Thank you so much for that incredibly detailed and wonderful review! I'm really grateful to you for pointing out the error; I guess I should have thought of it before… I'll definitely be correcting it! I'm happy that you found the chapter engaging, and I hope this chapter meets your expectations! And thanks once again for all your support and reviews that help me improve!

Putxi: Thank you so much for the review, it totally made me smile the whole day! I'm really happy that you find the story interesting and exciting! And you're truly welcome, and also, Thank you so, so much for reading and reviewing this story! You all totally make my day too!

Now, onto the story!

Kagura struggled to breathe evenly as she tried to use her broken hands to push herself up, though she collapsed again in almost no time at all. The pain that went arcing through her body when she put the least pressure on her hands was too much for her, even though they were just beginning to heal a little. But she had to, she had to get up, she had to stop the two utter idiots fighting to death in front of her. She wasn't going to lose her husband, and she had to knock some sense into her brother too!

As she had feared ever since the battle began, the fighters weren't matched evenly. The sadist was the best swordsman she had seen, but Kamui was different, he was a Yato. No human could hope to match up to a clan that lived for killing, no matter how skilled they were. But still… were her eyes deceiving her or was Baka niichan actually getting pushed back by Sougo? The look in his eyes was scaring even her… Is the Sadist that angry, because of me? Why is he pushing himself so far for a near stranger like me? You idiot, please stop, please…

Kamui felt truly excited by now. It had been such a long time since someone had truly injured him… Even better, that someone was a complete killer like him. However, a puny human could only go so far before… His eyes suddenly widened in shock as Sougo gripped his parasol barehanded, ignoring the blood dripping from his side and plunged his sword in with all the force he had. The sword snapped with the impact, while the parasol dropped to the ground. Both men stopped for the first time since they had started, weaponless and panting for breath.

"Human, how about you give up now? Go on like this and you'll just be dying, all for one brat who wasn't strong enough to survive. Is it really worth all that?"

"You wouldn't get it and you don't need to. I know you're just buying time to heal those wounds." The moment the words left Sougo's mouth, there was but a shadow standing at the spot as the person was already behind his enemy, gripping the broken hilt of his sword. Blood dripped down Kamui's shoulder, even as he sent Sougo crashing into the walls with force enough to crack the walls themselves.

Sougo bit his tongue to prevent himself from screaming as he hit the ground, but his entire body felt like it was on fire. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kagura, her shaking limbs and ragged breathing the only sign she was alive. Still, a vast relief coursed through him; at least she would live. About himself, he wasn't too sure, but there was no way he was going anywhere without taking down the bastard who hurt his girl.

Mustering all his remaining strength, he grabbed a pointed rock near his feet and rushed at Kamui, ignoring the agony welling up in his body. The red head was hardly prepared for such an unexpected attack and could only respond a few seconds late. That was enough for Sougo to stab the rock straight through his chest, just before he was slammed into the ground again.

The two fighters were matched quite evenly by then. Both of them were covered in blood, weakened by numerous injuries and broken bones. Kamui, for one, could hardly believe that he had been beaten up by an insignificant, weak human, while Sougo silently damned all human physical limitations that were slowly overcoming him. Even as his mind roared for revenge, his body could barely move anymore. A feeling of irritation rose within him as he watched Kamui raise his fist for one final strike. He had no energy to dodge it, forget blocking it. It was probably going to be his last memory on earth, and damn it, he hadn't even beaten China yet! Not to mention that he would not be there to protect her if something happened again… Well, he thought, as Kamui flew towards him, grinning wildly, it was now or never. If he was going to hell, then he wouldn't be alone in the trip. He wondered whether she would be too upset, but he hoped that she wouldn't cry. That'd really mess him up…

But the blow never came. As he looked up in astonishment, he saw that Kagura had somehow managed to grip Kamui from behind, despite her injured arms. Her lips were trembling with pain, but she tried to grin as she caught his eyes.

"Sadist, don't you have something to do, yes?"

Kamui's eyes burnt as he attempted to throw off his sister, but all of a sudden, the rage went out of them, only to be replaced with pure disbelief; Sougo had used the pointed fragment of a broken parasol to stab him in the stomach. Blood gushed out as the red haired man finally dropped his fist and collapsed onto the ground, eyes filled with surprise before they closed as usual.

The moment Kamui fell, Kagura let go of him, dropping down to the ground herself in pain. Sougo sat down beside her and they leaned against each other, surrounded by the remnants of what was once a bustling city area. Gazing at the rubble, Sougo coughed out, even though speaking was painful for him, "Look at what you've done, China. Forget murder cases, Hijikata san will arrest you for damaging public property."

"Most of it was your fault! Why the hell did you even go and fight with that idiot brother of mine, you stupid Sadist?! I never asked you to do it!"

"I'd never do it if you asked me too, piggy. And didn't you too go and fight with the same psycho idiot?"

"That's because it's my responsibility as Mami's daughter to knock some sense into him, not yours!"

"And it is my responsibility as your owner to stop you from getting killed by your own idiocy. Really, China, did you have any damned idea of what you were doing?!"

"You're no one to say that, yes?! You could have seriously got killed, uh huh! And how could you bring Sadaharu here too? Don't you have any idea of the danger you put my pet in?!"

"The mutt wanted to come because it was worried about you. It would have come by itself, even if I hadn't brought it along, China idiot. But I can't believe that you are more worried about the dog than about me."

"Of course I was freaking worried about you too, you dumb Sadist! You think I wanted to lose you too? Even if you are the worst, dumbest, ugliest Sadist in the world, you're still my um, rival and, and you can't die until I beat you!" Why the hell was I going to say 'love' over there? I'm so not doing a confession like a teenage girl!

"So you admit that you were worried about me? How sweet, China. Just admit that you are totally in love with me already."

"Am not! You should be the one admitting it, you Chihuahua!"

Shaking his head at his China's obstinacy, Sougo leaned against her, trying to prevent himself from passing out. He heard her grumbling about how heavy and smelly he was, even as she adjusted their positions so that he could rest his head on her lap. The last words he heard before he fainted from exhaustion were, "Stupid sadist, making me worry so much. You're as bad as Baka niichan, uh huh. Why do I have to have such weird luck in men…"

When Sougo woke up, all he could see was white. As he looked more carefully, he found that he was in a white room. Everything, from the blankets to the walls and the floors was totally white.

Where the hell am I? Wait, isn't this a hospital room? What am I doing here? Yeah, right, I was fighting that insane psycho who looked like China…. Huh? Where's China? Just how long have I been staying here anyway? He tried to get up from bed, but was soon stopped by an excruciating pain in his chest.

"Sougo, quit moving if you don't want to get hurt anymore. There ain't any carriage that'll run away if you don't get up now." Hijikata stood at the doorway, smoking as usual, only his eyes revealing his concern.

"Hijikata san, I'm disappointed that you haven't died yet. And should you spreading those cancer fumes in a hospital? How long have I been here anyway?"

"A fortnight or so. Both of you were really beat up when we found you, though the China princess recovered within a few days. She's sleeping in her room now, so don't point that bazooka at me, devil brat."

"Sleeping? That's just like her…"

"Oh yeah? I'd reckon that she hasn't slept a second before this, always sitting by your bed and checking up on you. Hell, she even threatened one of the nurses for suggesting that she leave."

"That reminds me, Toshi, we haven't told her anything about how worried and anxious our kid was when he heard that she was missing! China san will be happy to hear of it!"

"Do not even think of telling China, Kondou san, or I might just have to tell the gorilla lady that you are obsessed with her."

"Embarrassed, are we, Sougo?"

"Hijikata san, don't say a word if you value your life. However, what happened to that psychopathic brother of China's?"

"His subordinate took him away while you and China were unconscious. We… couldn't reach in time to apprehend them." Bitter regret was evident in Hijikata's voice, even though Kondou consoled him, saying,"Don't sound so down, Toshi! After all, Sougo and China san did give the criminal a fitting beating. We'll definitely catch him and the criminal organization next time!"

Sougo was hardly consoled as well; the thought of Kamui roaming around free disturbed him immensely. What if China was attacked again? What if something really happened the next time? He'd sooner turn a masochist than think that Kamui would have learnt a lesson. But he pushed such thoughts away, slowly getting off the bed despite Hijikata's yelling and Kondou's protests; he needed to see his China. Now.

As Hijikata san had said, the girl was sleeping in her room. Sadaharu had curled up beside her and cocked an ear as Sougo entered quietly. The dog let out a small, pleased bark, before getting up to go and guard the entrance as his master and mistress enjoyed some time together. Sougo grinned at that; China's dog understood him as well as she did.

Turning his attention to Kagura, he was startled at how peaceful she looked; a complete contrast to her usual loud, rude and violent behavior. Her vermillion hair looked so soft that he slowly reached out his hand to play with it, slowly enough not to wake her up, for he hardly needed any more ribs broken. It wasn't long before he realized that even an earthquake wouldn't be waking her up any time soon. As he leaned towards her, he heard her murmur a few words incoherently. Frowning, he tried to decipher her mumbles, wondering whether she was dreaming about something.

"I want sukonbu…." Typical. She was hungry, then.

"Sadaharu, don't chew garbage…" So she was thinking of her dog.

"I need to see him… now…" Who the hell is she talking about? It had better not be any other guy than me…

"The sadist had better get well soon…." She's… worried about me?

"Why do I love that jerk? Get out of my dreams…." What? I'm not dreaming, right? China just confessed to me? I- OUCH!

Kagura had punched him, still fast asleep, murmuring, "I want to crush his stupid face…" Sougo flew backwards, falling against the couch, several of his wounds reopening with the impact. Damn it, China, I'm so going to get back at you for this!

However, he decided that revenge could wait for a while. Opportunities like this hardly came often. So he pushed Kagura to the side, got into the bed himself and wrapped his arms around her, making sure to first lock her fists in a handcuff he always kept with him. Then, pulling her close, he fell into the most comfortable sleep he had had in a long, long time.

A/N: So there ends the ninth chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it and that it lived up to your expectations. If it didn't, please send me your opinion and I promise I'll try to improve! I apologize for updating a little late; a really troublesome lazy bug bit me, ha ha. Please do take some time out to send a review; I really love to know what you think about it! Suggestions to improve, constructive criticism and corrections are all priceless.

Thank you for reading!