All I want for Christmas is…

…Anything But This. [Chapter 10]

The last thing Kagura remembered, was how her rival flipped open the clock and turned on its stem.

Darkness suddenly invaded their surroundings; an ocean of nothingness except for those she accompanied. Aside from the sound of their own breathing, it was completely still.

But then, she heard something. A faint ticking noise…

The feeling of nostalgia invaded the Yato's whole body, filled her very existence and wrapped itself around her as though it was embracing tightly—a hug of compassion, she assumed. Aside from the soothing warmth, it also hinted sadness, pain, loneliness, death… Time had so much to tell after all…

"Follow me," Okita directed calmly, and made a dash in one direction. The raven-haired male obeyed without any question; unlike Kagura, he had done this from way back and knew how it worked. Our heroin on the contrary, needed a few seconds to clear her mind before she could tail the other two.

As they ran through time, the young lady could see many different scenes flash by at once. Most of them were too blurry for her to recognize, but she perceived some: School of Beam Saber, Courtesan of a Nation, Baragaki, Rokkaku, Popularity Contest, Shinsengumi Crisis… Even when they passed the first episode of Gintama, Sougo did not stop. Their destination was further in the past.

At one point, everything became so elusive that she just couldn't focus anymore. The only thing that she could think of, was to run…

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Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for awhile
Tell me of a story never ever told in the past…

Take me back to the land
Where my yearnings were born
The key to open the door is in your hand
Now fly me there…

—"Key of the Twilight", Yuki Kajiura

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When the Yato finally opened her eyes, they weren't surrounded by darkness anymore, but something appearing to be a storage. Dusty corners. Old furniture. Worn out fabrics. The evening twilight gave the partially dark room a bleeding glow of crimson. A young Toushirou could be seen playing alone in front of their house with glass marbles you could get from suspicious-looking street stands for a low price. They were now in the past, right before the incident occurred.

"There will be a large fire happening soon. I must warn the villagers so we can put it out," the blackhead uttered while contemplating his brother through the window. Poor child… The boy had no idea what awaited him. Turning to face them again, Tamegorou playfully ruffled their hair. "Can you keep an eye on Toushi in case the bandits come around?"

The rival duo nodded, and so, they parted ways. While the client left to do his job as a villager, Okita and Kagura settled down beside his brother. The blue-eyed girl wondered what they would do if the future vice-chief happened to see them, but he proceeded to play as though no one was around.

"We don't belong in this time. He can't sense our presence unless we decide to invade it like Tamegorou did with ours," the sadist shoved his soiled boot against his boss' younger self's back-head, pressing it into ink-dyed locks like one would do when wiping dirty soles on a doormat. The child's hair tufts remained the same however; unstained and in position.

Puffy clouds drifted slowly by and reminded Kagura of pinkish cotton candy she had once. If anything, today appeared wonderful and promised of a morning just as beauteous. She knew that wasn't the case, however.

"Come to think of it… You've always wanted Mayora dead, right?" Asked she, with an expression of curiosity. "What would happen if you kill him now?"

"He'd disappear from the present," Sougo responded as he kept abusing the innocent youngster without him noticing, "Someone who's dead in the past can't exist in the future."

Well, that made sense. Whoever owned a gate-opener had tremendous power, considering how they could decide the outcome of another individual's life. Nevertheless; in good hands and if used right, the clock could be useful to a high degree. This only raised the question about whether or not the whole matter was fair. Was it fair to leave the older sibling like this? For the sake of the Mayo Freak's future, his brother sacrificed his own. It was Tamegorou's wish, but that didn't make this situation less unrightful on his part.

Distracting, the captain's behavior was, as he unleashed his dislike on the vice-chief's younger self. Being quite playful herself, Kagura joined in when the sadist started spitting on Hijikata's face and they started a short-lived competition to see who could eject most drool.

"What's wrong, Hijikata-san. Can't scold me now, can you?"

"Shower in my spit—Gyahahahaha~!"

Good thing none of that could affect the kid, or else he would have been covered in dirt, saliva and bruises by now.

Satisfied with their deed when it was over, the two youngsters seated themselves at the doorstep. It felt nice to joke around, but her joy disappeared when she was reminded of what the client had said.

"Hey, Sadist…" Delicate fingers brushed vermilion red locks behind one ear as her voice became serious. "Is it true that time-travelers shorten their lifespan each time they change the past?"

A pause.

"Where'dya hear that from."

"Tamegorou-san told me."

"That idiot…" Sougo seemed a little annoyed despite the calm demeanor, she noticed. "Who knows. This clock was used by Ane-ue before she gave it to me. Might as well end up like her, I suppose."

Had Tamegorou been talking about Mitsuba…? Was she the time-traveler who warned him about his dark future? No wonder why he kept using Sou-chan which was the name Okita's sister fondly called the sadist by.

That must the reason why her health grew for the worse-aru… The maiden lightly bit her lower lip at said thought. By handing the clock to the brunet, Mitsuba had made such a big change in time which resulted in her passing away at early age. According to what she knew, the same would happen to him.

"I don't like it-aru… I hate you, but I don't like it."

"What are you saying. Won't you be the first to shout banzai and break into dance at my funeral?" the sandy-haired male tilted his head to look at her. As if he was waiting for something; a reaction. "I don't need pity—especially not from you."

"Quiet, jerk. I'm already your funeral planner; don't make me the cause of your death," she snapped, eyebrows furrowed. What was this numbskull talking about? Although she might not act like it, the girl was incapable of rejoicing about him passing away. How could he even say such a thing?

Hadn't they affected each other's lives enough? No matter the difficulties the Yorozuya had to face, she was sure the Shinsengumi guys would back them up in their own rude way. They all bickered and insulted each other as though it was a daily routine, but that meant cipher when it really counted. Trust. Bonds. Those kinds of things couldn't be expressed with words. It wasn't necessary, because they could be felt. Saying that I'll celebrate at his funeral… It pisses me off-aru.

"China, don't waste your time worrying about trivial matters. I already told you. After this is over, we won't have anything to do with each other anymore."

Indeed, he stated something similar while they tried figuring out who the client was.

["Then why don't we work together? I've got all the clues. Without me, you won't be able to get far; without you, I'll starve to death. So, what do you say?"] ["…fine. But after this, you better leave me alone."]

She didn't like the idea of being separated from him.

It was stupid how his existence affected her so tremendously. Heck, even the reviewers thought of her as out-of-character. She was Kagura; everybody's favorite heroin. Strong, tough, cute—a lady. She still was, but this whole thing about this bastard made her character feel off somehow. It was as if she had become a different person. As if she was playing a role that didn't belong to her… And no, this had nothing to do with the author's portrayal of her being bad.

What had been bothering Kagura the most (and probably the readers as well), was the fact that she had no idea why she loved him. It sounded crazy coming from a Yato, to the point that she wanted to puke—but it took her roughly 3 chapters to discover her crush and give in to him, then only 1 to accept his apology. Now that they were in the 10th chapter, spending time with Sougo had become something she didn't find annoying anymore. They truly got along.

…but then, it hit her.

What if these feelings weren't hers in the first place? The Sadist was a time-traveler, which meant that they might have interacted more times than she could remember. If she, in another time-line, had a crush on Okita… That would explain why her crush for him grew so fast in this story.

She was about to ask him regarding this when aquamarines caught onto something else—

Smoke.

The fire had started. Hijikata got up from his crouching position as he, too, noticed changes in the sky's colors. What a few moments ago were roofs that provided shelter during stormy night, had now been licked by flames of affliction.

But who caused it? The search for said culprit came to an end as her eyes rested at a hill not far away from where they were standing.

"Sadist, look—!" The sukonbu-lover exclaimed, a finger pointing at the height so he could see it too. On that uprising surface stood three people. Are they the bandits? Wondered she. Wait, no. The blue-eyed had a feeling she knew them. In fact, she was sure knew them considerably well, but it was impossible to identify anyone under these circumstances. "They're the ones behind this incident-aru! If we catch up with them, we might know who were responsible for this wrongdoin—!"

"There's no time for that." Just as he replied her, two males broke into Tamegorou's property with weapons in hand. She had been unsure about the trio on the hill, but these were, without doubt, the awaited brigands.

As their blades were raised, the child fell backwards while attempting to escape. Afore Kagura managed to react, a loud call broke through the air.

"GET AWAY, TOUSHI!"

Tamegorou came running between them right when one of the criminals lowered his cutting tool and slashed it across the older man's optics. Letting out a cry in pain, he knelt on the ground with a hand covering half of his face. Crimson fluid streamed down from where his beautiful orbs once were… Like tears of blood originating at a pair of hollowness. What was supposed to happen…happened. Sight of blood wasn't anything new for the Yato, but watching her friend in need without being able to help him… She couldn't handle that.

A few people from the household gathered behind the siblings. There were only two of the bandits; someone could have looked for weapons or at least gotten help from others—but all they did was to stare at the scene in shock. W…What are those people doing-aru…? Why aren't they helping them? Why isn't anyone helping them…?

If it wasn't for Sougo holding her back, she would have tried to jump at those fainthearts. How could humans be so selfish? Tamegorou and Toushirou had to suffer, all because some people were scared of losing their own lives.

"Didn't we already discuss about this? I know you're upset, but there's nothing we can do," the brunet reminded her once again.

"They're cowards-aru! All of them…!" Clenching her fists, the vermilion-haired female looked at him angrily. How could he be so calm? Didn't he feel anything? "You can't expect me to just stand here and watch!"

"China. Our job as interferers in time is not to change the past. On the contrary, we're trying to prevent it from changing."

"Then what's the point of us being here! Isn't our work done-aru?"

"Not yet. We need to make sure everything happens according to plan."

According to plan? A fire broke out, the bandits showed up, her client had been wounded—what else were they waiting for?

"He's not doing it." The officer's gaze fixated at the view in front of them, as if he anticipated something decisive to happen.

"What, who? Wh-What are you talking about-aru?"

"Hijikata is supposed to stab the brigands' eyes…but he's not doing it."

Okita was right. The frightened child just sat there on the ground, staring wide-eyed at the enemies and his wounded brother. Toushirou's violent avengement was a necessity for them. As mentioned in the previous chapter; even the smallest change can create a completely different future.

Seconds went by, still the kid did not move or seemed like he planned to. It sounded unbelievable for someone at that age, with no experience in fighting to stand against thugs who a guy like Tamegorou had problems with. Even for the most determined person, being unarmed, he needed a chance to fight back; something he didn't have at the moment. The sadist was getting impatient.

Unable to wait any longer, Sougo revealed the clock and stretched out his hand to touch one of the bandits with it. As though contact with the sadist could break spells, said guy was now able to see them. Startled at the sight of the two youngsters who showed up from who-knows-where, he let go of his knife, then fell on the ground and backed away in fear after getting a straight punch in the face by the Shinsengumi captain. The other intruder, unaware of our main characters' existence, couldn't help but wonder if his partner had seen a ghost. They started arguing.

In the midst of such chaotic events, anger built up inside and Toushirou saw his chance. Hurriedly, he grabbed the blade and charged at the enemy, successfully gouging out their eyes in revenge for Tamegorou who was in a similar state.

Seeing that they were done here, Okita turned his back on the unpleasant scene whilst muttering a "Let's go" to Kagura. With the clock's stem turned, the gate was opened once again to allow them leap into the dimension of time. While following closely behind the running male, the Yato glanced over her shoulder. As the gate behind her vanished, she could see how everything on the other side was ablaze.

The three silhouettes on top of the hill had disappeared… But who they were, and what their reasons for starting the fire might be… She wasn't able to guess…

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[ When Toushirou was eleven, there was a large fire in the village, and some bandits used this opportunity to break in. They tried to attack Toushirou, but in the attack, Tamegorou protected him from getting killed and ended up losing his eyes. Toushirou was driven by rage and attacked the bandits. When he came to his senses, he was holding the bandits' knife, and the bandits were strewn across the floor, each with injuries to their eyes—similar to the ones that they inflicted on Tamegorou. His other siblings saw what had happened, and they all stood glaring in fear at him…in silence… ]

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Once more, their surroundings were drowned in darkness. By now, the sadist had slowed down, so they were more like walking than sprinting. The moments which floated by had become less imperceptible and she saw pieces of memories from everyone's past. Yamazaki playing badminton, Okita sitting on Kondou's shoulders, Otae holding Kyuubei's hand, herself at the dinning table with Umibouzu and a black-haired Kamui, Shinpachi drawing on the ground with a stick, Gintoki during Shoujou's class with Katsura and Takasugi…

The cute heroin felt a little sad, but happy at the same time. Sad, because those times had passed and could never come back—but glad because their paths had now crossed each other.

"You know, Sadist… I don't think you'll die-aru," Kagura stated, almost to herself.

"And your reason?"

"I believe there's a greater meaning to these encounters…" The Yato's gaze grew soft as she side-glanced at him, seemingly thoughtful—this however, didn't last long. "The chapter-list was accidentally copy-pasted in this document the other day, so I took a peek! This fic is gonna be long-aru; no way the author would let you die any time soon, uh-uh! Awesome, yes? Incredible, ye—?"

"So much for a 'greater meaning'," Sougo snorted. "Didn't you see? Halfway, this fic's genres were changed from Romance/Humor to Angst/Romance. Something nasty is going on."

"Erection! We haven't seen Romance anywhere, so the Angst-part could be a lie too-aru!"

"I'll assume you meant objection."

"Besides, if this story was about romance on the whole, wouldn't the rating be M instead of T? Most pairing fics have smut, yes? Uh-uh!"

"You're too young to get f*****."

"Oi, I'm a real lad—W-WHAT ARE YOU SPUTTERING, Y-YOU P-PERVERT!"

"Says the one who shamelessly shouted erection just a moment ago."

"Everything depends on the user, that's what Gin-chan says; it only sounds perverted coming from your mouth-aru."

"Look that word up sometime, will you. For your own sake."

The young girl's steps came to a halt when her own past floated by, awakening memories she held so dear. Father, mother, brother and her…all four of them, surrounding the table for dinner. It wasn't a royal's meal which could make your mouth water, but she had what she needed the most; a home. When was the last time they were assembled like this…? Like a real family…?

Mami… The most amazing female Yato she knew of, even until this day. What a shame her health failed… So strong and stunningly beautiful even Umibozu, the most powerful alien-hunter in the universe, couldn't stand up against the sight of her (except for a certain part of him, that is). One day, Kagura wished to become just as admirable.

Those images of the Yato family eventually faded away, gradually shifting into some particular cloudy day. The leaden sky hinted of ill omen, foretelling heart-wrenching tales from the future. Amidst the bleak scenery stood a lonely police officer, whom this story revolves around.

"Sadist… Isn't that…you?" Inquired Kagura softly, unknowing of what her eyes were set on. Is this from the sadist's past? She couldn't help but wonder, desiring for an understanding she yet didn't possess.

Crimson hues opened wide in distress.

"W-Wait, China—!"Okita grabbed the girl by her shoulders; he wanted to bring her away from here. It didn't matter where. But it was too late…

{Turn away…}

His expression said it all, but curiosity got the best of her and the maiden withstood. She wanted to know.

{You can't know the truth…}

That was when the past Sougo unsheathed his sword.

{Please don't look…}

Kagura had seen him kill people before, just…not like this. Why was the sadist stabbing a kid? And with so much hate… She didn't understand.

{I beg you… China…}

It was too dark for her to see the victim at first, but her eyes eventually grew accustomed to the weak light. Realization hit the Yato so hard her whole body froze as turquoise optics widened horridly in shock at the gruesome scene in front of her.

{China…}

She recognized the child. It was a face she knew too well; a face she could never forget. Like how misery out of nowhere invaded the Hijikata siblings' lives, something had triggered her sufferings too. It all made sense now… Out from her trembling lips escaped words—familiar, yet unfamiliar… Supposedly pleasant, but in truth, so unfortunately unpleasant:

…

"Ba…ka… A…ni…k…i…"

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We're spreading our wings out of a cage that's become tight;
Dont…search for me wherever I may be…

I will let you fly away out of a cage that became tight;
Will you…be able to smile the same way again…?

—"Lion", Amano Tsukiko

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He came home late that evening. Clothes torn. Drenched in blood. Wounds so severe no human could have survived. Those from the Yato tribe had an insatiable hunger for supremacy, but he wasn't like that. She knew he wasn't. Her brother was cheery, protective and playful despite the killing instinct which slept within. He was the kind of sibling who would feed her more dango than he ate himself. The kind that would tell her stories about the outside world with such enthusiasm that growing up and 'becoming a lady' was something she wished would happen fast so she could explore it herself.

But when he returned that day, the young child realized it.

This wasn't her brother.

Something had gone terribly wrong…

Kagura tried asking about it as she was tucked into bed, but he just smiled—an empty smile. Nothing was wrong, he assured her. He had met someone earlier, that was all. That was all.

"I should thank that man for opening my eyes for the truth," the older sibling confessed, his sky-blue optics narrowing a bit. "…Thanks to him, I realized that in the end…only the strongest ones survive."

She wondered what he meant by that, but Kamui didn't give a direct answer.

"Tomorrow." Tomorrow night, he promised to show her what he meant.

When the next morning came, his words had already slipped her mind. That was, until that happening occurred and turned her life upside down. No matter how awful the foreshadows seemed to be, she hadn't expected this… She hadn't expected it would involve her Papi, Kamui covered in blood once again, and her begging her throat dry for his life to be spared…

The young child didn't know who her brother was talking about; who he had met that rainy day…but whoever that was, said person was to blame for her misery. He turned her brother into a monster, which in return ruined the relationship between Kamui and their father—and later, also between her parents… Because of that someone, her family fell apart. It didn't matter who he was…

She loathed him…

[End of Chapter 10]

Author's Note:

Kudos to FireGemini and everyone who guessed the person Okita tried to kill was Kamui! We've finally arrived at the first turning point of this story, but there's more to come. What do you think of the fic so far? Reviews would be very much appreciated.