Author's note: So as to clear possible confusion, there are 2 Kaguras in the story, namely time-skip Kagura and a Kagura that's of the same age as the canon Kagura (who isn't from Earth and is not of the Yato clan, but rather in some random world somewhere, but looks exactly like canon Kagura). Also, the Okita here is from the time-skip arc as well, so yes, all in all this is practically an AU. All that said, I hope you enjoy reading it. 8D

Disclaimer: I'm not Sorachi, so Gintama isn't mine. The skeleton of the plot of the fanfic isn't mine either, for it's loosely based off a short story entitled "Zita" (read it when you get the chance, it's beautifully written).

She had a piece of the sky in her eyes.

Therefore she was destined to love someone from the sky. That was what she had been told since she was young. Her older brother had blue eyes too, but she did not know if he made the prophecy come true, for he was ambitious, and wanted a life that was better and more exciting than their village could give, and headed out to fly to different stars and galaxies the moment he was given the chance to. She wanted to do that too, to explore and make her mark on the universe, but while her brother was cold, Kagura was kind and warm, and would not, perhaps even could not, break her father's heart.

'He is meant for you.'

That was all she heard the whole day. A spaceship had come, bearing a young man and his crew. Who he was, she did not know. What he was there for, she did not know too. All she knew was that while she was slightly curious, she did not care about him. She has not been able to see him for herself yet, but based on what her friends had told her, he was around 23 or 24 years old, and was the Kaiser of some faraway planet. He was 10 years older than her, way too old for her.

Therefore, he was none of her business. Who cared about love and destiny and all those girly things? Certainly not her. She grinned as she picked her nose with her right index finger and flung what she had mined carelessly aside. Anyone else can have him, for all she cared.

~o~

"Hey, hey, Kagura, did you hear that? They say that the super cute guy from the spaceship is gonna be teaching us! He used to rule an empire, but maybe he got bored of it cause that's totally boring stuff, and now he's gonna be our teacher! …Or wait, no, I think he's gonna be our teacher 'cause his spaceship's landing went kinda haywire and our teacher's now in the hospital with a broken foot, but who cares about that~" This statement was followed by a high-pitched scream that made Kagura want to punch her classmate in the face.

Actually, she wanted to beat up every single classmate of hers. The girls were giggling and yapping about what they should do to get the new teacher to like them, and the boys in her class were complaining about how the new teacher was going to steal the girls they liked away from them and what they should do to get rid of him. They were all annoying, and they were all getting on her nerves, and before she could stop herself, she was standing up on her table and shouting "Shut the hell up, all of you!" at the top of her lungs.

Still, the class continued to chatter. At that very moment, the said new teacher arrived. Everyone promptly shut up. After having a scan of the class he was to take charge of for the next few weeks, he let a frown show on his face and leaned against the teacher's table. His phone rang, and after letting out an exasperated sigh, he pulled it out of his pocket to read what was probably a text message.

Glancing upwards from his phone, he noticed that there were feet atop a table on the front row. A student of his was standing up on his or her table, it seemed. "Get down from there, you brat. What do you think you're doing?" he barked out, without even looking away from his phone.

She turned around to glare at the new teacher, at the person who had been making her life miserable for the past few days (for his mere presence was able to make the village abuzz with gossip, and everyone kept bothering her about love and prophecies and those stupid girly things, even when she did not even know him back then). Only to realize she could not. How could she, when what she was faced with had crimson eyes that gazed so sharply at everything and anything? And he was not even looking at her yet (for his cellphone seemed to interest him more at the moment) – what more if he was staring her down? He made her, in all her tomboyish wildness, seem meek as a lamb. So she hopped down from her table and wordlessly sat down in her chair, and tried her best to keep still and be silent like everyone else.

"Kintoki."

"Here."

"Zura."

"It's not Zura, it's Kazura."

"Fine, whatever, damn brat. Kazura."

"Here, sir."

"Bakamoto."

"Hahahahaha, here, sir!"

He continued to go through the list, reading name after name without even looking up to see which student was which. It irritated her. Everything he did irritated her, from the way he held the piece of paper containing their names to the way his voice sounded, but she didn't have it in her to say that to his face. Not when he had the eyes of a killer, perhaps even of a monster.

"…Kagura?"

The room was silent, painfully silent, as he stopped reading to stare at the crisp and white sheet of paper again, as if he could not believe his eyes that her name was there, as if he was trying to convince himself it was all just a mistake.

She swore she could see mad desperation replace the savageness in his eyes. And she was just as certain that she heard him mutter "I travelled all this way to forget all about it, but you won't let me forget you that easily, huh, Kagura?" with what seemed like bitterness and misery mixed together in his voice. She wanted to snort and laugh. So the beast from before, what she, who was almost never scared of anything, was terrified of, was just some heartbroken little boy.

But she couldn't, and she wouldn't, for fear that the beast from within him before would come back. And so, like a prim and proper student, she raised her hand and said "Here!", breaking the deafening silence that was beginning to drive all of her classmates crazy.

He looked up from the piece of paper he held, and looked at her, at the girl who shared the name Kagura with someone he was running away from, straight in the eyes. She couldn't help but look away. His eyes seemed to bore a hole into her very soul.

She spent the rest of the class doodling meaningless words and figures on her notebook, and trying to ignore the glances thrown her way by her curious classmates. Trying to ignore the fact that their teacher was intentionally trying to ignore her. She hated being bothered, but she hated being ignored even more, and while normally she would have lashed out in sheer frustration, this time she did not, instead choosing to distract herself with her pen and notebook.

~o~

She sighed in relief as she stepped inside the huge and rustic house she called home. She never really loved school, but that day was the absolute worst day she had ever had in school ever. When he wasn't ignoring her, their teacher seemed to be picking on her. Though while he picked on her the most, he teased and insulted all of his students, to the delight of the Ms in the class, and the disgust of those who were not into that kind of weird hobby. He was a sadist, of that there was no doubt.

Just thinking about it already ticked her off and so after letting out a sigh, she resolved to tell her father all about it. It wasn't like she was a tattle-tale, but what could she do? Meanwhile, she knew her father had the authority to get rid of him for her. So she removed her school shoes, placed her pink umbrella on a shelf, and put on her comfy slippers by the doorway before walking to their living room.

"Papi, there was a really annoying guy in school today, and he's the teacher. Since you're the village's leader, can't you tell him to get the hell outta here? Ah, by the way you're still bald today, uh-huh."

Speak of the devil. There he was, seated across her father in their living room. Her eyes were wide with horror and surprise as she realized this.

"Kagura, if you have nothing nice to say about my hair, then don't say anything at all! I'm bald and this is all your fault. You pulled my hair out when you were younger and now you've completely forgotten about it, huh?! Don't be an ungrateful brat! By the way, this is Kaiser Okita de Sade Sougo III, you should behave and be nice to him, Kagura."

"Umibouzu, no need for introductions, we've met already, haven't we, Kagura?" he said, complete with a smirk and a glint to his eyes that seemed to taunt her.

"Shut up, jerk! Go away! And why are you in my house?!"

"Oi, oi, if you're planning on calling me jerk, at least call me Jerkaiser. Besides, you heard your father, behave and be a nice little girl, Kagura."

There it was again – that teasing tone, those eyes shining with sadistic delight. What was wrong with him? What was he, the prince of the planet of sadists? Well, she, Kagura, was absolutely, positively fed up with him. To think he'd even show up in her house, her fortress, the one place she was supposed to be safe from all the annoying things life has to offer (except her father, but she could live with that, even if he was bald).

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Go back to the planet you came from, bastard!"

And with that she walked off, tears streaming down her face from being a bit too upset, a bit too angry at him and the world and everything that existed.

"I should probably apologize for her behaviour," Umibouzu said as he stared at her disappearing form. "She's a hot-headed tomboy who eats way too much and acts like a slob, but she's kind, way better than my other kid who left us just like that. Maybe this is all my fault. Her mom died when she was really young, and she doesn't have a mother figure to look up to, and I just don't know what to do with her anymore. I don't know what I should do to raise her as a proper lady anymore."

"The life story wasn't necessary, old man. But hah, daddy's getting worried and stressed because of his little girl, huh? Got so stressed out about it you lost all your hair, Umibouzu?" The crimson-eyed man let out a small laugh.

"That's not why I'm bald! It's just that the follicle fairy has started to ignore me, but she'll come back, of that I'm sure."

Sougo leaned in closer to Umibouzu, placing his elbow against the table that was between their seats. "Say, I have a proposition, Umibouzu. I'm well acquainted with manners and proper decorum. If you're having such a hard time raising your daughter to be a 'lady', why not let me lend you a helping hand?"

"…I'll think about it," was all Umibouzu could say to that.

~o~

Two weeks had passed. Two weeks of being ignored, then teased, then ignored again, then taunted again by that man whom she disliked from the very pit of her heart by then. Two long, agonizing weeks for Kagura. After that long wait, their teacher's leg had finally healed, so Okita Sougo the Jerkaiser wasn't going to be her teacher anymore. She had laughed with maniacal glee at that. That was the good news. But there was a catch. Now that he was free from having to teach hormonal teenagers, he had enough time to be her personal coach on mannerisms and proper decorum. She was screaming and kicking and crying and flailing around when she heard the news.

"Papi, no! NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME, SEND HIM BACK TO HIS PLANET I PROMISE I WON'T EAT AS MUCH SUKONBU ANYMORE AND I WON'T PICK MY NOSE JUST NO! NO I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANNA!"

"He knows best about these kinds of things! Now keep quiet and go there, he's waiting for you in the formal room."

"HE'S A SADIST, A REAL SADIST, I SAID I DON'T WANNA!"

"KAGURA, IT'S NOT LIKE HE'S GOING TO EAT YOU ALIVE, NOW GET IN THERE."

Kagura had to be dragged all the way by her father into the formal living room. She normally loved going there, for she found everything there pretty, from its floorboards made of dark cherry wood to the antique table in its center adorned with phoenix and dragon carvings. But if going there meant having to be alone with the man she loathed, then no thank you, she would rather stay in her room, or even the doghouse.

"How have you been faring, young lady?"

She usually saw him wear clothes that looked a little too formal for their village, for even as he taught her class he would wear a finely woven, white long-sleeved shirt, with crisp, black pants, and would wear a gold-trimmed black jacket on top of his shirt when the day was chilly, but that was nothing compared to how formal his current attire was. He was dressed in a black kimono, and as she admired how well spun the silk was, she noticed, for the first time, how fair his skin was as it contrasted against the darkness of his clothing. Fair and smooth, like a woman's, like hers. And as she looked up, she saw, for the very first time, his smiling face – a true smile, unlike the smirks and grins he had given her countless times in the classroom. It fit him well, way too well, and made him look like the refreshing young man at the prime of his life that he was. For once, she realized that Okita Sougo was a good-looking man.

For once, she felt herself blush.

Quickly, she turned away, lest he catch her like that. Not quickly enough, it seemed, for afterwards, she heard him say 'Huh, what's wrong, brat? Got a crush on me?'. She did not need to look at his face for her to know that the usual sadistic smirk had long since replaced his smile.

"Why are you like this… Ignoring me in class, then teasing me, then now you've come to bother me inside my own house. Why? Do you hate me that much? Or are you just that much of a jerk?" Before she noticed it, there were big, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She brusquely wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt.

"…First things first. A lady does not cry, especially when in front of others. Doing that would ruin your make-up." There was slight hesitation in his voice, as if he was not sure whether he should be telling Kagura this or not. As if he was a naïve little boy who, for the first time, was up to no good. "Always remember that. And, well, I guess I should say sorry about that, if it bothered you that much. I just wanted to have a little fun to get my mind off things…"

Before she got the chance to ask him what matters bothered him so much that he turned into a total sadist, he handed her a small, ornately decorated box.

"There's make-up inside that. I can't teach you how to use it 'cause I don't use that stuff, but I'll be sure to tell you if you look hella ugly, or if you look like a gorilla."

"You…you jerk!" she couldn't help but shout. He laughed at that. And she laughed too. Perhaps because she was sick and tired of being pissed and annoyed all the time, or perhaps because she didn't care anymore.

She wasn't too sure of anything anymore.

~o~

It had been exactly a month since they had started that training. It had been difficult, really difficult, at first. She did not know how to wear make-up, or how to put on a kimono. All her life, her smile had served as her make-up and she had long been content with wearing whatever was comfortable and easy to move around in.

She could still remember everything that happened on the very first day, one month ago, could still retrace the steps she took and utter the words the walls were witness to. He had pushed her to the other side of the room, and, after handing over a heavily embroidered kimono, told her to put it on. She protested, as he was in the same room, but he promised he won't take a peek. She heard him mutter "Like I'd take a peek at a girl with nothing but plains on her chest" under his breath. She had nearly broken his wrist because of that. The memory of it still makes her smile every single time.

She could still remember when he had first forced her to wear make-up. How she felt glad that there was rouge tainting her cheeks red, for he said "So you had what it takes to be pretty, huh?" and hearing those words made her heart beat madly. She could still remember when he had first taught her how to dance. How rough his hands felt from the callouses formed by using a sword, how firm and strong his arms seemed, how she stepped on his feet on purpose, and he on hers, and how they had laughed afterwards at the sheer fun of it all. She could still remember how he had pulled on her obi too tightly and how, when she began to choke and cough and beg for air, he had panicked, and nearly gave her CPR. Their lips centimeters apart. Their hearts beating in unison.

She could still remember how he had been nearly a month ago when he received his first letter from the woman who shared her name. It was after their training for that day had ended, yet he could not wait to get home, and excused himself to a corner of the room to open the envelope and read its contents. She had pretended to go out of the room, but peeked at him in secret. She saw how, after reading it, he had ripped it to shreds, how angry and hurt and miserable he looked, so different from the man he was before receiving the fancy-looking crimson envelope. She could remember how lethargic he seemed the next day, how he had whispered "She looks so much like her…" to no one in particular, how his normally neat light brown hair looked dishevelled for once. How he seemed to ignore her, yet again, after they had gotten along somewhat amiably for a few days. Just remembering it made her heart ache.

She looked up at the wall clock adorning the room's wall. It was already 4 o'clock, time for training. Yet she knew he wouldn't come.

His ship, his crew, had come back early that morning. He had called them the previous night, saying he wanted to go back, was ready to face everything. Ready to leave and forget everything in that small village. After having been welcomed so warmly by the native folk, despite being cold towards everyone, he had gone out to personally say farewell to everyone. That was what her father had told her, just ten minutes ago. He never said anything about it to her the previous day. He was a bona fide jerk in her book.

Yet still she waited, and waited, and waited, for him to come. Even if it was just to say goodbye.

Quarter to six. It was already quarter to six, but he still has not come. "Is he planning on leaving without even saying goodbye to me?!" she couldn't help but think. Couldn't help but want to cry. But she was wearing her best kimono, and her face was painted perfectly with make-up. She could not cry, was not allowed to cry, for she was a lady. That was what he told her a month ago.

After putting on her sandals, she resolved to go herself to where his ship was. She grabbed hold of her kimono, and prepared to run off towards wherever that jerkaiser was, but stopped when she felt a hand firmly grip on her shoulder.

"Kagura, where are you going dressed like that?"

"Papi, I just want to say goodbye to him. Let me go, please."

"…Don't forget to bring your umbrella. Come back home quickly."

A short "thank you" was all she managed to mutter before she ran off, umbrella in hand, towards where the spaceship was.

~o~

It took her five minutes to get to where the crimson-eyed man was. She saw him about to get on board the spaceship. Saw him clutching what looked to be three of those crimson envelopes she had once seen him receive. Her grip on her umbrella tightened.

"STOP! AT LEAST SAY GOODBYE TO ME, YOU JERK." she screamed at the top of her lungs. "DON'T LEAVE YET!"

He turned around, and his usual teasing smirk was on his face. "Didn't you tell me you wanted me the hell outta here before? When was that again…around 6 weeks ago?"

"Stupid, I meant that back then, but now I don't! I don't! Why didn't you at least tell me that you were leaving?"

He walked towards her. "Because I've only decided on it last night, when I got home, and I figured you'd find out through your dad and you would go here to bug me, so there was no need to travel all the way there." He dug his hand in his pocket, looking for something deep within it. Kagura took the opportunity to take a closer look at the crimson envelopes he held with his other hand. They were all shiny with scotch tape – it seemed as if the broken and tattered pieces had been lovingly taped together to form it anew. Finally, Okita brought out a blue envelope and handed it to her. "Anyway, I finally managed to pull myself together. And you helped me with that. Here's my thanks, and my goodbye."

Apprehensively, she took the envelope and gazed at it. It had "To Kagura" written in front in his handwriting. It was so cold of him, she couldn't help but think. Not even a "dear Kagura" or a "to my friend" or a "to my beloved". It was nothing but her name. No, in his eyes, it wasn't even fully hers. It was a name she shared with the woman he received letters from, the woman whom he probably will be returning to now.

"A letter? What, and am I supposed to rip it apart too, and tape it together like you?!" Her tears blackened by eyeliner and mascara were beginning to stain the top of her kimono, but she didn't care. "You idiot! Stupid jerk!"

He turned around and ignored her even as she screamed his name again and again, begged for him to stay again and again. Soon, she could not see him at all anymore, could not even see his spaceship anymore as it became but a dot in the steadily darkening blue sky.

Fingers trembling, breath hitching, she slowly, awkwardly ripped open the envelope, and read the contents. Read his wish for her to find someone else, for her to wish him happiness, for her to be happy as well. Read his apology. Fingers trembling, tears dripping, she ripped the letter apart, only to cradle the broken envelope and tattered letter in her bosom afterwards, for her to later on, piece by piece, tape together until whole again - the letter and its envelope that was so blue it seemed to be a piece of the sky.

Author's note part 2: If you have any questions regarding the story (like 'What was stated in the letter?' or 'Why did he leave her so suddenly?'), feel free to come up with the answer yourself, it's more fun that way. ;D Also, I want to improve (for there is always room for improvement), so feel free to review and tell me how you felt while reading and after reading it. 8D