Gintama

Judas Kiss

Chapter One: Rainy Day Blues

The weather has been certainly strange today. It went from clear skies to dark thunderclouds in a matter of minutes. The rain was relentless, the water pitter and pattered off on her umbrella continuously. These were the moments Shiori was glad her mother forced her to carry an umbrella whenever she left the house.

Speaking of her mother, if she doesn't get back soon then she'd certainly receive a long scolding from her. This, she wanted to avoid at all costs. The last time she came home late, her mother kept her locked up for a whole week. Not to mention, this time it was raining, her mother would be absolutely furious if she came back soaking.

Nearing the bridge, she came to a halt when she noticed someone leaning on the wooden ledge of the bridge, watching the river run wildly. It was the fact that he had his arms crossed and resting against the ledge, with no umbrella or shelter whatsoever that bothered her. Shiori gripped her own umbrella uneasily as she slowed her pace, this person could be a madman for all she knew.

He turned slowly towards Shiori when he heard her approach. At that moment, she got a closer look at the man. Through the heavy rain, she could make out a handsome face, soaked kimono, sword from his left side and a dripping pipe he held in his hand.

"Are you alright?" she voiced.

Saying nothing, he turned back to the river.

This was something new for Shiori, she wasn't used to being ignored. In fact, never once has a man ignored her. He was staring at the gushing river ahead, still paying no regard to the rain. His expression looked dismal and his fingers shook slightly.

'What is he thinking?'

'He's not going to jump right?'

Every instinct in her body told her to leave this man and go home, but what kind of person would she be if he indeed were suicidal? If she left him, wouldn't he jump? Why else would someone stand over such a place at this time?

"Sir?" she cleared her throat.

He looked to her again, this time turning to face her fully. For the first time, she noticed he wore bandages over his left eye. The white fabric was soaked through, it didn't look very comfortable but at least it wasn't tinted red.

"You're drenched," she noted.

"Indeed," he agreed, glancing down at his attire. "I am."

"Would you like to step under my umbrella?" Shiori asked. "It wouldn't feel right if I just left you standing under the rain."

"You're very kind," he took up on her offer.

Shiori held the umbrella a little further away from her body to give him space, and he ducked under. She felt both her sleeves get dampen, her right from being exposed to the rain, and her left from the man's wet kimono. He reached for the umbrella handle and grasped over her hand, pulling the umbrella slightly higher to accommodate his height. He was quite a bit taller than her, but Shiori wasn't that tall to begin with either.

"Much better," he nodded, releasing her hand. "Shall we?"

Shiori nodded and the two set off across the bridge. Her arm felt strained, as she had to hold it much higher than usual. Before she realized, her arm began to shake uncontrollably. The man seemed to notice and reached for the handle again.

"I'll hold it," he grunted.

"Thank you," she felt the wooden handle lift off her hand.

The two walked down the riverbank at a steady pace but eventually the rain got even heavier, so instead they decided to take shelter under a small pergoda. He snapped the umbrella close and propped it up against a bench. He did the same with his sword. Shiori sat down next to her umbrella and watched the man as he began to dry out his pipe.

He emptied out the wet tobacco from the pipe and pulled out a small metal tin from his kimono. Inside were matches and dry tobacco. Shiori watched him prepare his pipe with great expertise, never has she been so enthralled by a man's movements. After lighting the pipe with a matchstick, he took a deep whiff from the nozzle and exhaled slowly.

The man looked almost godly when he fluttered his eye shut, content with his smoke. Slowly slipping a hand under one side of his kimono, he sat on the stone ledge and turned away.

It was obvious he had no intentions of speaking to her again.

Shiori took a deep breath as she contemplated what she should say.

"… What's your name?" she called.

Nothing was said once again, as he turned to her slightly. His eye looked harsh, as if they were judging her, reading her.

"Shinsuke."

"It's nice to make your acquaintance Shinsuke-san," she smiled. "I'm Fujiwara Shiori."

"Hm."

"Do you live around here?" she queried.

"No," he said immediately. "It's been a long time since I last set foot on Edo."

"I see," she nodded, unsure what to think she looked away from him. "Are you a samurai?"

"What do you think?" he looked at her again.

"I think it's illegal to carry a sword around," she replied.

"Are you planning to turn me in?" his tone sounded raw, challenging.

"… No," she sighed. "At least not in this weather. I'd feel safer under this pergoda with a ronin than running through the rain screaming for the Shinsengumi."

Shinsuke chuckled quietly as he turned to watch the rain again.

'Good answer.'

This won't do at all. What was she supposed to do while he quietly observes the rainfall? The least he could do is try to make conversation.

"If you don't live in Edo then do you live out of town?" she asked.

"No."

"Do you realize have many times you've said 'no' in the last minute?" she frowned.

"No."

"You're so aggravating…" she mumbled.

"… I run a mercenary group," he eventually said after giving it some thought. "I stay on a ship with them."

"Mercenary group?" she repeated. "What kind of jobs do you do?"

"This and that," he shrugged, bringing the pipe to his lips again.

Not only does he reply in one-syllable answers, but on the occasion when he does speak more than one word he had to be so painfully vague. This man was a real headache to talk to.

Shiori sneezed and then did she realize just how cold she was. The rain had soaked her right arm completely, and her left from Shinsuke's drenched kimono. This will take some explaining when she gets back… and she wasn't keen on it.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," she sighed quietly under her breath.

Originally, she only intended to come out for a stroll after dinner, but she never expected to be meet a strange man then be sat freezing under a pergoda. Shiori rolled her wet sleeves up and rubbed her palms together.

'She's going to kill me…'

Shiori frowned as she thought of her mother.

"Here."

Shinsuke appeared before her, offering her the lit pipe.

"I'm not allowed to smoke," she shook her head.

"It'll warm you up," he insisted.

Seeing as he wasn't shivering even in his wet clothes, Shiori decided that right now her parents didn't matter to her as much. She was sitting here, freezing her butt off, the smart thing would be to stay warm. Staring at the pipe curiously, she took it from him.

Shinsuke sat down next to her, his kimono making a very displeasing noise as it made contact with the bench. He crossed both his arms and legs then sat back and watched for her reaction.

Shiori brought the pipe to her lips and breathed in. This being the first time she has smoked, she really didn't know what to expect, but to her surprise, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Also, she did in fact feel warmer.

"Thank you," she huffed slightly, passing the pipe back to him.

Shinsuke took the pipe back with a quiet nod. Without another look at her, he began smoking again.

"You're a man of few words, aren't you?" she asked. "Shinsuke-san?"

"Words aren't always needed to express feelings," he replied. "Sometimes some quiet observation is all you need."

"Is that your way of telling me to keep quiet… politely?" she sat up a little.

"Good observation," he smirked.

Shiori bit her bottom lip and looked down to her lap, a little dumbfounded by his words. Did he not know who she was even after learning her name? Or did he just not care? Either way, this was the first time someone had been so bluntly rude to her.

The tension grew lighter as the rain went on, but it didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. She glanced over at Shinsuke who was still admiring the rain and smoking on his pipe.

"Your bandages are wet," she reached into her kimono. "The water won't be good for your wound."

Shinsuke watched her pull out a small handkerchief and she lifted it to him. He examined her face closely first before taking it from her. Using his free hand, he dabbed the wet bandages over with the handkerchief.

"You're from the noble Fujiwara house correct?" he finally initiated a conversation. She nodded back, delighted that he recognized her family's name. "Should the daughter of the Bakufu's right-hand really be talking to a ronin?"

"Well it's not like you're a bad person right?" she smiled a little at his forwardness. Then she held the hilt to his sword. "Plus if you really wanted to kill me, you would have already attacked me – though I warn you, I am no easy target."

"I assure you, I have no such intentions," he chuckled as he pulled the soaked cloth from his eye. "Here, thank you."

"No, it's alright," she shook her head. "It's already wet, you might as well keep it."

At first she wasn't sure if he was going to take it back, he had looked at her for a few moments before bringing the handkerchief back over his bandaged eye. Silence overcame the two again, but it wasn't strange anymore. They seemed to be content in each other's presence while watching the rain pour.

A dim light came from a distance. Shiori couldn't quite make out what it was through the heavy rain, but whatever it was, there were more of them.

"Do you see that?" she whispered.

"No."

She glanced over and saw that he had his eye closed while taking a whiff from the pipe. Was this some kind of joke to him?

"No, seriously," she hissed. "There's something coming, and lots of them."

Shinsuke opened his good eye and sure enough, there were figures heading closer towards the pergoda.

Three men dressed in uniforms walked under the pergoda. All three had umbrellas and a torch in hands. It was the Shinsengumi, and not just anybody, but it was the infamous vice-commander and a captain.

"We've been looking for you, Fujiwara-san," Okita drawled. "Your mother's having a fit worrying about you."

"Is that so, Okita-kun?" she smiled.

Shiori stood in front of Shinsuke's sword, successfully blocking it from the officer's view.

"Who's this?" Hijikata glanced towards the drenched man sitting on the bench. "A friend?"

"Something like that," she replied hastily. "Please, would you let me have a few words before escorting me home?"

"Don't take long," Okita shrugged, heading back out of the pergoda.

Yamazaki followed Okita back out into the rain, while Hijikata watched between Shiori and the man one last time before leaving, thus giving her the privacy she wanted.

"Why did you help me?" Shinsuke spoke first. "You help me once after another. Why?"

"Because I like you," she eyed him. "I don't want to see you get caught over carrying a sword. I've to take my leave now, but it was nice meeting you, Shinsuke-san."

Shiori gave him a small smile before walking to the edge of the pergoda. The three officers immediately appeared before her and held an extra umbrella out for her.

"Thank you," she took the handle.

The vice-commander glanced back to the pergoda one last time before stepping into the patrol car. It shouldn't matter too much who the other man was, since they had completed their job. All was asked was to find Fujiwara Shiori and make sure she's safe.

Inside the car, Okita and Shiori sat at the back while Hijikata stayed in the front passenger seat next to Yamazaki. The two at the back were already bantering over something stupid as usual.

"You shouldn't wander around speaking to strangers, Fujiwara-san," Okita almost smirked. "That guy looked pretty dodgy, who was he? Your secret lover?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she sneered back. "I bet you'd just tattletale off to my mother."

"Oh? That sounds awfully suspicious," Okita teased. "Just who is he?"

"Keep it down, back there!" Hijikata called. "You're giving me a headache, Sougo!"

"Yeah, Okita-kun," Shiori smiled. "You should be quiet. You're bothering Hijikata-san."

"You're supposed to be on my side, Fujiwara-san," Okita drawled. "Do you want me to tell on you?"

"No, no," she waved her hand with a sheepish smile. "Don't tell my mother. We're friends after all, aren't we? Okita-kun? Right?"

Okita crossed his arms and gave a triumphal smile.

Shiori gulped and turned to the window. Okita better not say anything to her mother, she'd already be furious at her for being late, if she found out that she had been with a samurai… she didn't even want to think about it.

"By the way, Fujiwara-san?" Hijikita looked back at her.

"Yes?"

"Did you forget your umbrella?" he asked, remembering seeing two propped against the bench back under the pergoda. "Do you want me to go get it for you?"

"No, it's fine, thank you Hijikata-san," she smiled back. "He didn't have an umbrella so I'm going to leave it for him. Not to mention he's hurt too, it'd be bad to get his bandages wet again."

"Really?" he nodded. "Okay then, let's go, Yamazaki."

"Yes, vice commander!"

That didn't make any sense. If he really didn't have an umbrella then what was the second shadow against the bench? If not an umbrella… maybe it was a sword? It couldn't have been anything else. Why would Shiori be talking to a samurai though? And why did she help him hide the sword?

Glancing up to the rearview mirror, he watched as Shiori stared out of the window. Her hands curled on her lap and she had a soft smile. The old man, Matsudaira was close to the head of the Fujiwara house, and they always got Sougo and Hijikata to act as bodyguards whenever she's out on formal occasions. Not that she ever needed any protection though, she was more than capable of fending herself when the time comes. But from all the times he's been with her, he's never once has he seen her like this before.

For once, Sougo was right about something – this was suspicious.

XoXo

Takasugi watched the lights disappear into the heavy rain. Once they were out of sight, he let out a quiet sigh. He was lucky, Shiori covered for him. It would have been troublesome if he ran into the Shinsengumi now. Having just arrived in Edo tonight, no one knows that he has left Kyoto, and he certainly didn't need the authority on his back.

Not yet. He still had big plans for the next few weeks.

Fujiwara Shiori was definitely someone that could come in handy. Her father being the Shogun's right hand man and the rest of her family were largely influential around Edo. If he played his cards right, she could help him with his plans. Though it'd probably take quite a while before he could even speak to her again, so it doesn't seem very likely.

Now that his company was gone, and he had warmed up slightly, he found little reason to hang around, but he couldn't leave until the rain stops. It wasn't as much as he didn't want to get wet, as he didn't want to get his pipe wet again. It was already lit up nicely, it'd be bothersome if it got drenched again.

Takasugi leaned back against the backrest and took a deep breathe from his pipe. Looks like he won't be getting back anytime soon. He looked to his right, towards where his sword was. To his surprise, he found not only his sword stood against the bench, but also Shiori's umbrella. He hadn't even noticed she left without it, with all the other men around helping her. Takasugi couldn't help but smile at the thought of Shiori leaving her umbrella behind for him.

Looks like he won't have to wait for the rain to stop, nor will he have to wait too long to speak to Shiori again. The handkerchief, he had planned to keep all along, but her umbrella was a different matter. This gave him an excuse to speak to her again. Though he had no plans to visit her house, perhaps he'd bump into her again the next couple of weeks.

With a small smile, Takasugi stood up and placed the sword back on his waist, and then he picked up the umbrella and headed out into the rain.

XoXo

"Just where have you been, Shiori?" Fujiwara Ayama was stood in the foyer when her daughter returned home with the Shinsengumi. "Where did you find her? Okita-san? Hijikata-san? … Where did you find her?"

"… She completely skipped me…" Yamazaki frowned.

"Don't worry about it," Shiori whispered back to him.

"She was sheltering from the rain by the river, Fujiwara-sama," Okita spoke up first. "She forgot her umbrella somewhere so she had to take cover."

"Is that so, Shiori?" Ayama turned to her daughter. "How did you manage to lose your umbrella?"

"Um… accidentally?" Shiori tried with a grin. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"It better not," Ayama frowned and then turned to the men. "Thank you for your hard work as usual, boys. Matsudaira-san will be pleased to hear the news. Good evening. Shiori, head to your room and get out of those wet clothes after saying your goodbyes."

With that said, Ayama turned to the house and leaving the four behind. Once Ayama was out of sight, everyone dropped their tense composure.

"Jeez, your mother's the same as ever," Okita sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I covered for you this time, you owe me."

"Thanks for that, Okita-kun," she beamed. "I'll definitely return the favor."

"How about you treat the next time we're having ramen?" he suggested.

"Sounds good," she agreed. "The same goes for you too, Hijikata-san and Yamazaki-san."

"Looking forward to it," Hijikata headed to the door. "And don't drag us out over something so trivial again."

"Hai, hai," Shiori grinned. "Thanks again. Take care on your way back!"

The scolding wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, probably because they had company, also probably because Okita didn't rat her out. Either way she was let off easy compared to normal.

Shiori decided not to push her luck further tonight and did as her mother asked. She headed to her room and tugged her wet kimono off. The wet clothing landed on the floor and she kicked them aside making a way to her wardrobe.

Picking out a nightgown was normally a quick and easy job, but tonight Shiori flicked through the hangers over and over wearily. There was only one thing on her mind right now, and that was the mysterious Shinsuke.

This chapter is set before Takasugi was introduced in the story. So before the festival and before Benizakura arc.

Reviews would be appreciated! :D