Just a fluffy story about Sougo and Kagura. Little bit angsty at times. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama or any of it's characters.

Never Go Into The Rain Without An Umbrella

Kagura stood in the pouring rain, her face pressed up against the window of her favourite shop. The rain felt icy on her bare skin, but she didn't care, her eyes were too mesmerised by the beautiful jewellery lined up across the shelves. But one thing caught her eye in particular. A delicate, butterfly hair-pin with various coloured crystals adorning it's shape. It was so pretty, so sparkly, but it wouldn't suit her. Things like that never suited her.

"Hey China, I could arrest you for loitering," a monotonous voice echoed behind her.

She whisked around and launched a punch at Sougo's expressionless face. Sougo dodged casually and yawned. "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to take me down," he said.

Kagura glared at him fiercely. "Want to try me?" she challenged.

"Tempting," Sougo replied, seriously considering a rumble in the middle of the street. "But Hijikata-san's already got me in trouble today."

"What did you do?"

"Tried to blow his head off. Twice."

"Only twice?"

"Hey, it's not even lunchtime."

"Sadist."

Sougo tapped on the window. "Why are you standing outside a jewellery shop in the rain anyway?" he questioned.

"Why are you still standing here?" Kagura shot back defensively.

He turned away. "Fine, I'll go kill time elsewhere."

"You going to leave a lady out in the rain by herself?" Kagura yelled after him.

Sougo sighed and held his umbrella out over her head. "Who said you were a lady?" he retorted.

She stomped on his foot angrily. "Why does everyone assume I like being a tomboy?" she spat.

"You sure act like one," he shrugged, rubbing his foot sulkily.

Kagura grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Well maybe I just want to be pretty for once!" she screamed. Her patience was way past boilling point. Everyone always said, but it was his words that hurt the most. Even if the rest of the world saw her for who she was, she at least wanted him to see her the way she wanted to be. If only he would just open his eyes to what she wanted him to see her as. If only he was just see her as a normal girl.

"Maybe I want to be like the other girls! Maybe I want to dress up and put on make-up!" she shouted. "Maybe... maybe I don't want to be just a killing machine anymore!"

Sougo stopped cold and blinked at her. "Oi, Kagura."

She placed a hand against the cool glass and smiled a little. "I like... things like these."

He stared at her with his usual emotionless glaze. But Kagura's eyes were no longer glaring at him, instead directed towards the ground. At that moment she seemed so little, so unlike the Yato fighitng machine she was born to be. She looked like a little girl who was just told she wasn't pretty enough. She looked weak. He scratched his head and handed her the umbrella.

She watched as he entered the shop, snatched the butterfly pin off it's shelves and slam it down in front of the shop assistant. A few minutes later he came out holding a tiny gift bag.

"Turn around."

Sougo threw the wrapping aside and stuffed the pin into her loose, wet hair. "Happy now? Won't go wandering out in the rain like a lost puppy?"

"You're littering," Kagura pointed out. "What kind of police officer are you?"

"The kind who does whatever they want."

He began walking off down the street. "See you later, China."

As soon as his umbrella left her head, she could feel the rain pounding down on her again. Sougo was getting further and further away, his Shinsengumi uniform fading into the distance, that black umbrella disappearing into the light of the morning. If she let him go, if she let him walk off, it would be over. He would not come back.

Oi. Dammit, don't just walk away.

She watched as he stopped for a second. Perhaps to turn around. Maybe he'd forgotten to tell her something. Sougo kept walking. In the end, she was just being hopeful.

No, this isn't how it's supposed to end.

Her hand touched the pin in her hair, the pin Sougo had given her. She was dripping wet and freezing, but it made her feel special. It made her feel beautiful. Before she knew it, her feet were running after the boy, splashing through the puddles the rain had made.

"Oi, sadist!"

She kicked him in the back, sending the umbrella flying into the gutter. But she didn't care, the rain didn't seem to bother her anymore. Even though it soaked her clothes and her hair, even though it would soon give her a cold, it made the butterfly sparkle like never before. It made her sparkle.

"What the hell, China? You trying to break my ankle again? And you think I'm a sad-"

Sougo's ranting was cut off when Kagura's lips met his. His body lost all feeling and for once, he felt weak under her grip. He lost his balance and somehow they ended up on the ground, in the middle of the street, kissing in the rain.

"I forgot to say thank you," Kagura said when they finally broke apart.

He blushed and looked away. "No problem... it looks good on you."

Kagura smiled. Her heart brimmed with happiness. She had a feeling the rain wouldn't bother her anymore.

"Oi Shinpachi, go check on Kagura," Gintoki mumbled as he read his way through the latest issue of JUMP.

Shinpachi placed a cup of warm tea down on the table. "Already did," he answered. "Her cold's just as bad as it was this morning."

"I thought idiots didn't catch colds."

"Funny that, Hijikata-san said Okita-kun had a cold too," Shinpachi replied.

Gintoki flicked through a couple of pages. "Guess idiots do catch colds then."