A certain Shinsengumi captain looked across the table. He was trying not to twitch.
"So… Kondo-san," he drawled, "Do you mind explaining this situation?" He pointed an accusing finger towards a silver haired man, then proceeded to wave towards the vast varieties of fancily decorated dishes.
Kondo scratched the back of his head in nervousness. "Ah, well…" He nudged the mayo lover sitting next to him with a foot.
Hijikata desperately tried to catch Gintoki's eyes. 'Oi Teme! Do something!'
'What can I do? I'm just as powerless as you!'
Next to Gintoki, Shinpachi pushed up his glasses. "Well Okita-ku-"
"Nobody asked you, Megane." Okita leaned back into his chair with a bored expression. His gaze slid next to the girl sitting next to Danna and Megane. "Why are you even here, China."
"Well excuse me for being forced to sit in a same room with a super sadist while wearing layers of makeup and kimono," the said girl hissed in annoyance, "You should be glad to see a cute girl such as myself dressed up in fancy kimonos and what not."
"I can't imagine anyone being happy seeing a monster dressed in ugly colored kimonos."
"I can't believe I even expected a Sadist to know anything about beauty."
"I would know better than a monster," he cooly raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to scare anyone to death with that face?"
"What did you say you sadi-"
"STOP! Stop. Kagura-chan, remember what Otae-san said," her foster father cut her off.
Kagura crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine. But seriously, explain this situation Gin-chan." She glared at the boy in front of her. "Why the hell am I sitting in front of a sadistic bastard?"
Sweating, Gintoki tried to ease the tension in the room with a laugh. "K-kagura-chan, you are officially 18 now. A fully fledged Yato. A woman. A member of this society." He signaled to the vice-commander. "Right Oogushi-kun?"
With a fake laugh, Hijikata loudly agreed. "R-right! Well, Kondo-san said he'd explain everything, I believe." 'Sorry Kondo-san, but I ain't doing this one.'
Startled, Kondo looked towards Gintoki for rescue but the silver haired man would not meet his eyes. Sighing, he nodded towards Kagura. "Well… Kagura-san, as you are 18 now, your father has decided it's time for you to find a partner."
He didn't miss her eyes widening. He also felt the young man next to him stiffen. "Someone who would not drag you down, who would not weaken you, and someone who would sacrifice himself to save you."
"Ah! That's not all!" Gintoki desperately tried to reassure his daughter, fearing her rampage that was sure to come anytime now. "If you were to find a partner, Baldy would come every two months to see you! Isn't that great, Kagura-chan?"
The Yato girl remained silent, eyes still wide.
"And as for you, Sougo! Wouldn't it be a honor for you to be with a daughter of a legendary warrior? It'd do good for your image." Hijikata joined in, trying to help with the situation. When he got no response from boy, he quickly stood up and left the restaurant room mumbling, "I need a smoke."
Even heavier tension filled the room, making the room dark and gloomy.
"... Is that all?" Sougo said with an indifferent tone.
"Is that all?" the vermillion haired girl seethed, "Is that all you can say after this? They're trying to set us up, Sadist!" She slammed a fist down the table, making the dishes jump a bit and clatter back down. "I can't believe you, Papi," she hissed to herself.
"Calm down monster girl." His eyes narrowed. "When did I agree with their plan?" Turning to his commander he told him, "I refuse."
"But Sougo! You can't refuse!"
"Why not."
"Because this is an order from the higher ups. To make an alliance with the Yato clan by marriage, and I'm obvious too old for her." Hijikata added, "and Yamazaki or anybody else doesn't have the appropriate rank and status for her. Even you are close to being on the borderline of unacceptable suitors." He sat down, now more relaxed because of his cigarette break. The gorilla sitting next to him shot him a grateful look.
"So why me? Why not someone higher?" He looked at the sole girl in the room. "Why her?"
The girl in question put her delicate yet deadly legs on the table. "I'll have you know that I'm the daughter of the Yato Head." She glared at him through narrowed eyes. Finishing her plate she resisted the urge to lick them clean.
'Anego said a lady must never lick plates, and I'm 18 already.' But Anego had never said anything about getting seconds, had she?
No, she hadn't.
She grabbed a new plate and began to load more food. She concentrated on chewing for a while, letting the silence take its toll on the three man. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Shinpachi fidgeting and the sadist's fingers twitching.
Twitching.
Oh how she wanted to break those fingers and shatter the bones till they were beyond treatable.
'Stop it, stop it… Count to ten, Kagura, count to ten. Remember what Anego said? A lady must never break one's bones unless attacked first.'
Smothering a chuckle at the thought of Anego breaking off Gorilla's bones for "sexually attacking" her, she nudged her earthling father. "Gin-chan, I wouldn't marry this bastard for all the sukonbu in the world."
"So I'm not even worth a lifetime worth of sukonbu? Gee, China, you're hurting this poor policeman's feelings."
She tried to kick him from under the table. "Shut up! Do you want us to be together?"
He frowned. "No, ofcourse not." He pretended to gag.
"You don't have a choice, Kagura-chan." Gintoki put a sympathizing hand on her shoulders. "I'm sorry, but your father and the government gave us no choice." Across, Kondo and HIjikata nodded.
Sakata Gintoki's heart clenched seeing a sliver of terror shine in his daughter's eyes. He could almost hear the unsaid 'What? Come again?' from the way her jaws dropped open.
"You… You wouldn't… Gin-chan…" Oh no. She was returning to her 15-year-old self.
'Don't cry. I can't cry. Crying in front of an enemy is begging them to come and kill you.'
She repeated the old Yato saying over and over in her head.
'Crying…' Something hot was burning behind her eyes, and she feared if she closed her eyes even for a moment moisture would gather in her eyes. '...is… unacceptable… begging… kill.. me…'
All at once, flashes of Papi and her brother popped up. Kamui giving her a new pair of rainboots. Papi leaving her all alone with her idiot brother. Kamui holding an umbrella over her head. Papi giving her flowers.
Papi.
Baka-nii-chan.
Mommy.
Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.
She placed a cold towel on her mother's forehead.
"Mommy… You'll be okay now?" Kagura tilted her head in an adorable angle with a look that only little kids could have pulled off.
A warm and soft hand caressed her hair. "My my…" Cough. "You're an adult already, huh?" Mommy gave her a gentle smile. "I'll be fine now that my little Kagura-chan has taken care of me…"
She snuggled her head into her mother's hand. "Get better quick, mommy! I still need to show you the flowers that grew behind the yard!"
Amusement graced her mother's features. "Flowers? Behind the yard? My, that's rare."
Kagura nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh! Kamui told me they're called flowers. I dunno what they are called."
Her mother opened her mouth to say something, loneliness and sadness filled in her eyes.
Reciting to herself didn't help. They had only brought painful memories. She felt even more tears concentrate. Widening her eyes more in an attempt to dry the wetness, she stood up and turned towards the door so she would not give the sadist the satisfaction of seeing her tears.
She had to leave. She couldn't show her tears.
She was a proud Yato, dammit.
Pausing in mid action of opening the door, with her back still facing towards the idiots, she muttered, "I'm leaving."
She slammed the door behind her, leaving the men to pass nervous glances at each other.
"O-oi, what do w-we do now?" Kagura's earthling father spluttered, his hands crawling all over his face in sheer terror. "Her dad's gonna kill us any moment now.. Shinpachi, go make reservations at the fivestar funeral home."
Shinpachi was busy stuffing the untouched food, save for Kagura's portion, into plastic containers.
In the corner of the room, Okita Sougo sat. He did not talk, he did not move. He could only stare into the space as new things registered in his mind.
He tried to think of ways out.
He came up with none.
His life was officially screwed.
He was getting married to the number one monster in Edo.
China girl.
"As this is a diplomatic decision, you will be given funds from the government," informed Hijikata. He led the nonchalant adolescence into the two story house. "Everything in this house is provided to you, and if you need more, here's a universal card."
Sougo looked at the slick metal card in his hands. He supposed he could buy anything he wanted from now on, and nobody could say anything about it.
The house was not fancy nor was it plain. It was… a cozy house. It reminded him of his old house he had shared with his sister. It reminded him a bit too much.
From a normal person's perspective, it would have been a normal house, with normal colors, and normal furnitures.
But it would be first time for him to live with another women that wasn't his sister.
With an unfamiliar feeling weighing his heart, he started to climb the stairs. Was it annoyance? Fear? Anger? He couldn't quite get the grasp of it.
There were total of four rooms.
'Four rooms for just two people? Completely unnecessary.' He mentally clucked his tongue and picked the room the far right; less sunlight would shine through the windows in mornings.
He was greeted with a flying shoe in his face when he opened the door. Kagura sat on the bed, bags still unpacked. The glasses boy and Danna was moving around the room, cleaning and drinking strawberry milk, while the girl just sat there, wearing a despondent look.
"Oi, China. Get out of my room."
She didn't even bother to bristle at his comment. She didn't even reply. She just simply shot him a look that was weak compared to her previous ones, and laid down on the bed.
She would not reply to that bastard. The girl remained laying there in silence until the boy sighed and moved his things into the room furthest away from hers.
'I don't care if he's also in this unwillingly as I am.' She cuddled into the blankets. 'I don't want this, I never asked for this.'
Kagura felt the wave of hotness flood to her eyes again, and shut them tight. She tried to think happy thoughts.
'Happy thoughts, happy place… find your happy place Kagura.'
She thought of gray buildings, rain, and umbrellas. Then a grass field, filled with many different kinds of flowers, and a woman and a man's laughter…. Sweet as honey, and melodious as silver bells. A strong hand wrapped around her 5 year old body and swung her around, his braid tickling her as it flapped back and forth.
"Mommy…"
Whew~ I'm done with the first chapter. FAVORITE AND REVIEW YOU GUYS! It'd cheer me up a whole lot! and if you find any typos or any grammatically wrong parts, feel free to tell me! (as long as its a criticism! c: )
Disclaimer: ALL of Gintama characters and original plot belongs to Sorachi Hideaki. Only this story belongs to me.
I'm back you guys! With a new fic! OKIKAGU! Please look forward to this one :3
~UnsilveredLove 3