#but the way i laughed when shinpachi wanted him to speed up and he just was like “ no gotta be safe ” or w.e

[nebula-drcams]

@braveryhearted asked: “ please don’t question my driving or parking skills . you couldn’t even begin to understand the level i’m on . ” ( from Gintoki to Nimue lol )

❥    𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒    [   𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂    ]  || Currently Accepting

"I don't think skill is the way to put it.."

   Or maybe it is a little bit considering he can move this slow even while driving. On one side, she's glad he doesn't seem to speed through the busy paths that people are on, on the other, it's hard to tell if he's just being cautious or just won't drive past a certain speed. It doesn't help that he can also stop so suddenly that she's sure of she didn't have a hold of him, she'd be thrown off.

"All I asked is if you were just one of those overly cautious drivers you know-"

   Now that she thinks about it.. that's probably close enough to questioning his skills.

[gintokisimp]

Happy Birthday Gin-san!

One-Shot about Gintoki's 30th birthday. Tsukuyo has a special present for the clueless Gintoki.  The setting of the fic is an already lightly romantic established GinTsu relationship. They already had some kind of romantic encounters, but it was never quite enough for anyone to make a first move. Basically all of them could be seen as „Well, that was awkward, but we are friends so it’s funny.“

Genre: Fluff, First Kiss Stuff

Rating: General Audience

Word Count: 1,960

"Gin-chan, wake up! wake up!"

Kagura's scream echoed through the Yorozuya banged on his door before tearing it open with an ugly sound.

"You're an old man now, no more sleeping in late" She continued to scream with full volume.

"Shut up!" Gintoki screamed back and opened his eyes. He sure felt like an old man already. His life was okay now, after the ending of the canon material. But something was missing, but he also didn't care enough to find out what exactly was missing.

Kagura brought in a birthday cake with 3 sloppily placed candles, topped with one single strawberry. Gintoki frowned looking at the candles.

"I'm 30, not 3." He blurted.

"Yes yes, right. You're so old, I need to use one candle for 10 years, that's how old you are!" She explained to him. Gintoki snorted.

"Why are you so happy so early in the morning?!"

"Here, eat up or mommys gonna be pissed!"

She ignored his bad mood and lifted the fork, forcing the cake in his mouth.

"Ah Kagura stop that, I can eat myself." He picked the fork out of her hand and grumpily ate the cake, sharing it with her. To be exact, Kagura shared with him. She ate most of the cake.

"We're gonna have a party today, yes we will!" She announced.

He groaned in disapproval, a party was the last thing he wanted.

"Zura and Elisabeth are coming, that weird space guy, Shinpachi of course, Gorilla boss lady, -"

"How many people did you invite?!" He interrupted her.

"Mayofreak, Gorilla, that sadistic assface" She ended her list.

"Did you invite the whole Shinsengumi?!"

"Yes of course! It's a special occasion after all!"

"Who's gonna pay for that?!"

"You don't need to pay, don't worry. It's your birthday!"

She happily jumped to her feet, snatching the plate from his hands, on her way to leave his room.

"Thank you, Kagura" Gintoki mumbled. She turned around and smiled.

He laid down again and sighed.

Just forget my birthday already, no one cares about that.

"No more sleeping! Get up now!" Kagura screamed from outside.

Angrily mumbling Gintoki crawled out of his futon and prepared himself for the shitty day.

---------------  x ---------------

The Yorozuya office was packed.

Every possible sitting space was occupied, the room filled with familiar faces. The mood was exuberant, but Gintoki still didn't warm up to the idea of the party.

All guests had arrived by now and the alcohol rose to everyone's head, while Gintoki tried to keep the excitement down. They tried to toast on his birthday several times, but he always denied it, frantically searching for excuses.

Once, he spurted over to the kitchen, pretending that he left the stove on.

Another time, he feigned to be asleep on the couch.

There was no reason for a celebration. There never was.

Katsura had just spilled his third beer all over the floor and Gintoki was kneeling down, searching for some napkins in a drawer, when suddenly the shoji door opened and another trio entered the room. "Hey Tsukki, Hinowa, Seita!" Kagura shouted happily.

Gintoki's heart stumbled. He abruptly lifted his head, banging his head against the drawer. Rubbing his back of the head, he stood up straight and faced the new guests.

Kagura didn't tell me they were coming as well..

"Tsukki…,what are you doing here?" He asked nervously

"Gin-san, Happy Birthday!"

Hinowa said with a singing voice, reaching for his hand to press it lightly, shaking it excitedly.

"Here, we have a present for you!" Seita hugged him turbulently with a small package in his hands, giving it to him with a big smile.

"It's ya birthday, are we not invited?" Tsukuyo mumbled, arms crossed in front of her chest, averting her eyes, Kiseru in her mouth.

Hinowa slightly pushed in Tsukuyos ribs.

"Don't you-?"

She whispered and Tsukuyo blushed slightly before she eyed Gintoki.

Confused, he tilted his head, Seita still jumping around in front of him.

Tsukuyo sighed, closed the few steps between them, walked around Seita and spread out her arms, wrapping them around Gintoki.

He was baffled.

Hugs? Since when does she give out hugs?

"Happy Birthday" She mumbled incomprehensibly.

Tsukuyo hugged him tight, a little too tight. He could feel her arms cramping around him and her heart racing against his. Well, that's awkward. Gintoki felt his heart speed up as well.

"Oi oi, not so unruly, you're almost assaulting me" He laughed nervously.

She tensed up, let out an angry sound and smashed him to the ground, pressing the air out of his lungs.

"That's a nice present, did not expect anything else from you.." He mumbled, lying exhausted on his back.

Tsukuyo was standing over him, her face beet red.

"Tsukki, are you okay? Are you sick?" Kagura shouted from her seat on the couch.

"'s fine" She blurted.

"Oi, why does no one care about me? It's my birthday and I just got crashed into the damn floor" Gintoki grumbled.

"You're fine." Kagura simply replied.

"Nothing new" Shinpachi shouted from the other side. Hinowa smiled happily.

"Oi, why are you happy? Why are you happy?!"

---------------  x ---------------

The evening had gone by mostly uneventfully. Katsura had tried to battle everyone in a game of uno, but he failed miserably, losing every single time. The now close to tears samurai was comforted by Elisabeth in one corner of the room.

"This never happens to me, I'm so good at this game!" He cried in his sleeve.

Elisabeth held up a sign: You're the best player!

Tatsumas laughter repeatedly echoed through the room. It was the most annoying sound of the evening. Gintoki had the strong urge to kick his head in.

"Kintoki, drink something with me!" He called out to him, completely wasted.

"It's Gintoki, can't ya at least get it correctly on my birthday?!" Gintoki hadn't touched a single drop. He still didn't feel like celebrating.

The Shinsengumi members happily drank in their own little round and were joined by Hinowa, Kagura and Shinpachi. Seita played on his new TS. unbothered by the commotion around him. Otae and Kyuubei sat on his table, sharing some food, leaving Gintoki and Tsukuyo alone.

"So.. how are ya" Gintoki started after some minutes of silence between them.

"Whaddaya mean?" She replied uninterested, smoking her kiseru.

"I asked about your well-being , what do you not understand?"

"Why are ya asking, you never ask that" She simply replied.

"Fine, I won't do it again." Offended, Gintoki crossed his arms in front of his chest.

He glanced over to her, their eyes met and both of them turned away, slightly blushing.

Hinowa turned her attention to Tsukuyo, noticing the thick tension between them.

"Tell him how you are, it's not that hard." She chuckled, slightly drunk and continued talking to Kondo with great interest. Hinowa had recently started to bond with him, much to her disapproval. She didn't want the police involved in Yoshiwaras business.

Tsukuyo huffed.

"'s fine, I guess." She finally replied to his question.

"Ah.. I see."

"and how is it?"

"How is what?"

"Being old." She grimaced maliciously.

Gintoki scoffed. "It's not that different from yesterday, it's just one day later."

"okay.."

"I don't know.. lonely" He continued.

"You don't have to be lonely," Tsukuyo said, still looking in another direction.

"..what do you mean?" Gintoki turned in her direction.

"I urr I.. I mean..you have Kagura and Shinpachi.. you're not alone"

Gintoki paused.

"Yea right, I'm not alone, but still lonely"

"That's not true, Gintoki."

"Sooner or later Kagura will move out, Shinpachi will find a girlfriend, and they will be living their own lives. I'll be a single left alone dad by then. Maybe I should buy myself a woman in Yoshiwara.." His thoughts trailed off.

"Ya couldn't afford that anyways. Besides.. I'm sure there's someone for you" Tsukuyo's voice got lower with the progression of her sentence.

"Really? Who is it, is she hot? Does she have big boobs? Please tell me she's not from the Hyakka"

"..kind of"

"Tell me, who is it?" He was invested now.

"Well..-"

"Tsukki, don't you still have another present?" Tsukuyo jumped at Hinowas interruption.

"No I don't. It's already late, let's go home." Tsukuyo answered quickly and she stood up hastily, leaving the disappointed Gintoki behind.

"Okay, if you say so."

Seita helped Hinowa and they said their goodbyes, walking to the front door. Gintoki stood up as well and accompanied them to the exit like a good host.

"You can tell me Tsukki, I won't tell anyone!"

But she just ignored him. He gave up.

"Thanks for coming, hope you enjoyed it." He said politely.

"Oh Gin-san of course we did! It's always pleasant to be around both of you !" Hinowas smiled.

Gintoki was confused "Why do you say 'both of you' so weird?"

Hinowa didn't reply and Tsukuyo pushed her to the door. Halfway, she stopped and turned around, facing the in the door leaning Gintoki.

"Gintoki..I .. I actually have another present for you" She started quietly.

Hinowas gasped slightly.

"She's gonna do it!" She whispered to Seita.

"Eh? I don't need presents, I thought I already said that." Gintoki waved his hand dismissively.

"It's just.. something small."

"uh.. okay?"

"you jus..just need to come a bit closer."

"You're scaring me."

"Or I can just come to you.."

Tsukuyo carefully walked back, stopping right in front of him at a very short distance. Sweat formed on his forehead.

"Close your eyes." She whispered.

He did.

Gintoki felt her small hands on his, turning his palm around, laying her hand in his. But there was nothing in her hand.

There's nothing there, What could it be? -

That's when she kissed him. No warning, no preparations. She just kissed him then and there in the doorway, right on the lips, in full view of everyone.

Gintoki forgot to think at all.

Her warm soft lips on his spread a fire in his body, crawling under his skin, burning the hands that were covered by her soft fingers.

One second.

The whole room went silent, Tatsumas laughter died.

If you listened carefully enough, you could've heard a feather falling to the wooden floor.

Two seconds.

Gintoki's head started to spin. His eyes opened slightly and he saw her face through his lashes.

Three seconds.

That was over the limit of an accidental kiss.

It was not a shy kiss,

it was brisk,

setting a complete new point in their relationship.

Her feathery touch on his hand tightened, sending a shiver that traveled down his spine, making his heart beat painfully fast.

Gintoki slightly opened his lips, about to return the kiss, but she retreated, her face tinted in a shade of red he had never seen before.

Tsukuyo smiled lovingly and lifted a finger, brushing it over his open mouth, caressing his lips.

"Happy Birthday"

She whispered and turned around on her heels, hooking the excited chattering Hinowa into her arms and quickly excited through the front door.

Gintoki just stood there, dumbfounded, unable to move.

The kiss wasn't that long, and it certainly wasn't a scene from a shoujo manga with a great backdrop, exciting atmosphere and a big buildup, but it was wonderful.

Nothing else was able to reach his mind in this moment, he only knew he would remember it forever.

Several minutes went by.

Still, no one had said a word.

Everyone stared at him and Gintoki stared at the door where he had last seen her.

“ehh.. Gin-san..? Is everything ok?" Shinpachi asked carefully, the sounds slowly returning to the room.

Gintoki's fingers slowly lifted up to touch his lips, her sweet taste still lingering on them.

“what…?" ..did just happen?

[vannahfanfics]

Snapshot

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Gintama

Characters: Gintoki Sakata, Tae Shimura

Requested by: Asperger Hero (Ao3)

“Hiiiii~!” Tae warbled cheerfully as she strolled casually into the Yorozuya only just seconds after she had knocked at the door. The three employees of the joint all greeted her with varying degrees of enthusiasm— her cute little brother acknowledged her happily, Kagura gave a muffled greeting through a mouthful of rice, and Gintoki just grunted and did not look away from his weather program. She had to suppose a grunt was better than nothing, considering how absorbed he always was in the daily report.

“What brings you here this morning, Big Sister?” Shinpachi inquired as she sat down at the table. Tae giggled as anticipation bubbled up inside of her. This visit wasn’t her average, everyday, just-happened-to-be-in-the-neighborhood house call. She grinned broadly as she produced a small camera from within the folds of her kimono.

“Look what I won in a work raffle! A Polaroid camera!”

“Whuzzat?” Kagura huffed as she swallowed a chunk of rice that would choke a normal person and leaned over the table to inspect the small device with curious eyes.

“It’s a camera that instantly prints a picture you take! Here, smile, Kagura,” Tae instructed as she put the camera up to her eye to focus. Kagura blinked before hurriedly striking a ridiculous pose, arms bent at odd angles and face twisted into a less-than-flattering expression. The flash burst as the shutter fluttered with Tae’s finger pressing down on the button. The camera whirred and spat out a black square rimmed with white, and Tae took the photograph to start shaking it so it would develop. After a few seconds of vigorous shaking, she held it out for Kagura to see; the alien’s eyebrows shot up to the roots of her hair as she was greeted with the crazy photo.

“Wow! That’s so amazing!” she laughed, snatching the photo up to run over to Gintoki and stick it in his face. “Look, Gin, it’s me!”

“Fascinating. Now move,” he grumped and fell onto his side so that he could once more behold the cute weathergirl chattering amiably on the television. Kagura pursed her lips and puffed out her cheeks in childish protest. Gin yelped as she kicked him hard in the shin, and as he curled up on the carpet whimpering and holding the potentially fractured bone, Kagura scampered innocently back over to the table to sit next to Tae.

“You should get pictures of everyone! We can put them all on a board in here!” the young girl suggested excitedly.

“What a wonderful idea! It will really liven up the place!” Tae agreed. There were worse ways to spend a day, after all. Tae smiled eagerly as she held the camera between her hands. She couldn’t wait to see what kind of memories the little camera would record. It’s really lucky that I won this little prize~ she thought as she snapped a rather candid photo of Shinpachi with half a fried egg hanging out of his mouth. Kagura snatched the photo up and started running in circles around the table while Shinpachi chased her, desperate to rip the damning picture in half. Tae turned to look at the white-haired man still lounging lazily in front of the television, occasionally eclipsed by the two running teenagers. A faint haze of pink appeared on her cheeks as she hugged the camera to her chest.

Maybe… I can keep one or two for myself, too?

~~~~~~~~~~

After a day of hunting down literally everyone they knew, Tae and the two children were back at the table, pinning a collection of pictures to a large corkboard that they were going to hang in the main room. Tae had to say, she outdid herself with the menagerie. She had a nice shot of Sadaharu playing fetch with a frisbee, one of Otose smoking her pipe thoughtfully while admiring the sky, one of cute Tama sweeping contentedly, and one of Catherine flirting shamelessly with a man who looked not the least bit interested and daresay even a little frightened.

After that point, people had started crashing the party, and Tae had snapped random photos to just see and what she accomplished. The results had been fun; she had a shot of her crazy gorilla stalker Isao lying upside-down in a destroyed fruit stand where Tae had hurled him (that she was only keeping because Kagure found it hilarious) and one of Hijikata and Okita embroiled in a fistfight with Gin and Kagura. The princess Soyo had come to play with Kagura, and Tae had snapped a very cute shot of them having tea time. They had ventured down to Yoshiwara and got a photo of Hinowa, Seita, and Tsukuyo strolling through the lantern-lit streets. Tae had taken a photo with Kyuubei as well and thought it was so adorable how shy she looked. Somehow she had also managed to nab a photo of the strange long-haired patriot Katsura and his companion Elizabeth wearing mustache disguises (that were being wrenched off by a very angry Hijikata in the photo) and it was funny, so Tae kept it. She had one of Ayame the ninja, too— specifically, one of her hanging out of a window calling lewdly to Gin as he tried his best to speed-walk away. The next shot was of her jumping out of the window to fall right on top of him. Tae thought they were nice companion pieces.

Finally, the centerpiece was grumpy Gin lounging in front of his television poring over Ketsuono Ana. Tae giggled as she pinned it to the board; surely, there was nothing so unequivocally Gin than that photo. He was watching through lidded eyes as the excited trio hung up their finished product and stood back to admire it.

“Are you finally done? Does that mean you’re done dragging me all over town?” he whined as he picked at his nose with his pinky. So vulgar, she thought, but with an undeniable hint of fondness.

“Tae! Can we please keep the camera?” Kagura begged suddenly, tugging on her arm. “We want to add more photos, and we’ll have to have a camera to snag them, yes?”

Tae smiled wanly at the precious girl; the camera would be only a novel and temporarily amusement to Tae. She knew in her heart that the children would derive much more long-lasting and meaningful amusement from it, and it was no loss to her since she had gotten it for free. Still… Her eyes wavered as they settled on the bored-looking man. He had been very unexcited about posing for photos, so Tae really hadn’t gotten any good pictures of him. Tae flushed and looked down at her feet when his eyes suddenly flickered to meet hers. Was it creepy that she wanted a picture of him? Just one… Then she could relinquish the camera to Kagura with no regrets.

“Oi. Take your dog out before he pisses on my floor,” Gin barked to Kagura as Sadaharu whined miserably at the door. Kagura stuck her tongue out at the rude man but obediently jumped up to scamper over to open the door.

“Come, Shinpachi, let us take Sadaharu for a walk!”

“What? Oh, okay,” the spectacled boy shrugged and followed after her. The door clicked shut behind him.

Tae and Gin were now alone.

“What’s that look for?” The smirk on his face was positively devious. Could he know what she was thinking? “You want a picture of me all for yourself, is that it~?” Tae flinched at how easily he seemed to read her mind. She could only shuffle her feet and blush as he peeled himself up off the floor to scroll languidly over to her and take the camera in his hands to begin inspecting it critically. With how close he was standing to her, it was impossible not to notice how he towered over her in an effortlessly sexy manner… Tae’s cheeks turned dark red. Had she really just used “sexy” and “Gintoki” in the same thought process? Oh, yes, she had. She still was. It was all she could think about, even. “I really don’t get the big deal about this thing…”

“It doesn’t matter! I’m going to give it to Kagura!” Tae stammered as she reached for the camera. Gin clicked his tongue and held it high above her head, out of reach. “Gin! Give it here! You don’t care, so why are you teasing me?” she whined pitifully as she stood on her tip-toes to try and reach the camera. Her fingertips could only graze the underside of its plastic surface. Her chest kept bumping into his as she wobbled in front of him, and he tilted his head back as the crown of his head tickled his chin. He was smirking widely, obviously very entertained by her fruitless efforts. “You meanie!” she said and puffed her cheeks at him angrily.

“Mean? I was going to take a photo with you, Tae; I don’t think that’s mean at all.”

Tae ought to be alarmed by the edge to his voice, she really ought to, but that was secondary to the effect his words were having on her brain right then. She fell back onto the flats of her feet as she stared owlishly up at him.

“Really? I thought you weren’t interested.”

“Just shut up and stand still,” he purred as he slowly slipped an arm around her shoulders, letting it hang there loosely as he adjusted so he was standing next to her. His other arm was raised to position the camera down towards them. Tae could only stare at the black lens, shocked at how easy it had been for Gintoki to agree.

Of course, things were never that simple with him.

She gasped loudly as his hand suddenly snapped up to grab her chin and turn her face. Her vision was a blur of his white hair and silver eyes and devilish grin and the flash of the shutter. He had concluded the act far before her mind registered the softness of his lips against hers; by the time the sensation had reached her nerves, he had already pulled back and dropped the camera in her hands to go flop down in front the television. She looked blankly down at the developing photograph, mind whirling in a storm of confusion. Surely she had just imagined that, right? There was no way Gin would kiss her…

The image slowly came to life in the black film. Sure enough, there it was, indisputable evidence of their lip-locking. Gintoki was smugly side-eyeing the camera as he smirked against Tae’s smushed lips, while her eyes were wide and locked on his face. She blinked once, twice, a third time for good measure to see if the image distorted at all. Nope. There it still was, clear as day.

“Ehhhhhhhhh?!” she screeched in a conglomeration of alarm, shock, anger, and stupid glee. “Gintoki! You can’t just do stuff like that!”

“What? Did you not like it?”

“Th-that’s beside the point.”

“So you did like it.”

“I-I didn’t say that!”

“Oh? Want me to try again?”

“Gintoki!” His shoulders shook in a baleful laugh before he tossed a smile at her. That smile made her heart stop. It wasn’t a smile of mischievousness or teasing, but genuine affection.

“Be sure to keep that a secret from Shinpachi. He won’t like it.” Tae stiffened before stuffing the photo into one of the pockets sewn into the inside of her kimono. “And Tae?”

“Y-yes?”

“Drop by more often. I get tired of Shinpachi griping about how he doesn’t get to see you with how much you work.” She blinked as he turned back to the television, grabbing the remote to flip idly through the channels. It took a moment for the request to register, and when it did, her eyes softened as she smiled lovingly. What a Gintoki way of saying things. Never could be to the point, could he?

“Hehe… Sure thing.”

She left the camera on the table for Kagura and left. As she walked home, she pulled out the photo, holding it in both hands as she walked home. Her eyes crinkled up with happiness as she admired it, her new treasure.

“Sure thing…”

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[hakuoki-dreams]

Yay!! The ask box is open!!! Do you mind doing some general drinking headcanons for the bachelor's? Any will do!! Thank you for all that you do!! You run an amazing blog!! 💙💙💙

Thanks for the kind words, dude! I did a random assortment of the boys 😉

Okita

Prefers to keep a nice, steady buzz when he’s drinking. No more, no less

Souji might know his limits best out of the whole bunch. Always stops before he’s had too much

He overindulged once or twice back in the Edo days. Waking up with the realization that he couldn’t recall what he did last night was a terrifying and uncomfortable experience for him, and one he never wanted to repeat

Even worse was the fact Saito couldn’t (or wouldn’t?) tell him exactly what happened. He swore him to secrecy just in case

Once Souji gets sick and his appetite lessens, sake is one of the only things he can still stomach. Dr. Matsumoto practically wrote him a daily prescription for it to keep his strength up, to Shinpachi’s jealous dismay

Heisuke

Loves to drink and hasn’t learned self-control

He’s still young and bounces back pretty fast the next day, so he usually feels like he can get away with it

Has a super unrefined palate

Will drink practically anything if it’s offered, although Sano is trying his damndest to teach him to be more discerning

Tends to be a loud and happy drunk; he’s the guy who kicks off all the drinking songs

Will laugh at any joke, no matter how stupid

Hijikata

Poor Toshi. Everyone knows about his lightweight tendencies at this point

He grew up in a very health-conscious family, and both his parents firmly abstained from alcohol, so he never got much practice drinking as a young man

By the time he met Kondou and joined the Shieikan dojo, he found himself far behind his peers in terms of tolerance. He struggled to avoid social outings for a while until finally confiding in Kondou. After that, the two of them would often stay behind on those nights to share tea and talk together

At this point in his life, he’s stopped caring so much about getting teased about it, even by captains under his command. Couldn’t really give a fuck anymore. If he wants to go for a drink, he’ll go for a damn drink

It even works in his favor sometimes. When you really need to let off steam and be able to say some outrageous shit, it helps to have a reputation as a weak drinker to blame it on the next day

Saito

Possibly the highest tolerance in the Shinsengumi

His liver must be some kind of medical miracle. Or maybe it’s the way he can always keep himself composed even when he’s three sheets to the wind

Gets less inhibited when drunk though

Sometimes lets slip a savage or sarcastic remark in response to the rest of the captains’ antics

Usually ends up sharing a bottle of sake with Okita, since they both drink at a similar speed and can pace themselves better than the Baka Trio

Yamazaki

Strictly a social drinker

He’ll go along with drinking outings if it’s a special occasion, but he really doesn’t enjoy the taste of sake or the feeling of being tipsy and unguarded

Usually tends to be a sad, nostalgic drunk

Waxes poetic about his life’s work for the Shinsengumi, or talks about his childhood, or just leans on the shoulder of whoever will listen

It usually falls to Sano to try and get him back in the party spirit

If they’re at Shimabara, his boyish looks and gloomy mood tend to attract some extra attention from the geisha, who always want to try and cheer him up

Shinpachi

Would have something resembling an alcohol problem, if it weren’t for the fact that he hates to drink alone

He instigates well over half their outings to the red-light district

He’s the type to drown his sorrows in sake whenever he can

Shin tends to feel things really strongly, but he’s a little emotionally repressed and hasn’t learned the healthiest ways to work through his issues

Grew up in a big family with several brothers, so he’s been able to hold his liquor since adolescence

He’s learned good hangover prevention methods over the years and always encourages everyone else to get some water before bed

[ravychan]

Love of the Fury Part One: Destined Meeting

It had been a rainy night, a young woman had been traveling from across the sea, the full moon was a tint of red. She looked up at the sky an let out a sigh, in her mind a red full moon was a bad omen. She was still getting used to Japan, she loved it but sometimes Ronin gave her trouble for being a woman. Her long black hair blew in the wind, the wind then brought her the scent of human Ronin. “Great, just what I need,” she muttered to herself as she noticed men surrounding her. Alarmed, she placed her hand on the double sheathes on her back which held her kunai, she had other weapons on hand as well. 

“Well, well, well, what do we have here boys?” One of the Ronin asked as he approached her as if he had the advantage. She moved her eyes around as each man approached her, this is bad she thought to herself. Crowded fights were not her forte. There was only one option, she had to get away from them and she had the perfect way to do so. She put her hand in her satchel, grabbed a smoke bomb and threw it onto the ground causing smoke to surround her and the men around her. Using the smoke as her opportunity, she ran from the men as swiftly as she could. 

Not long after the smoke cleared, shouts followed her as she ran to hide from the crowd of men. There had been at least seven Ronin, they were always drunk or causing trouble, or both she thought to herself as she continued to run. She then noticed a small alleyway she could squeeze into as they ran past the area. Breathing hard, she tried to catch her breath from the running. To her dismay a plank of wood fell close to her, the men heard it and ran to her location to see if it was her. 

Letting out an exasperated sigh she stood and ran again, almost tripping over the wood she hurt her foot. A searing pain went through her leg, though she did all she could to not make a sound so she would not give her location away. This slowed her speed down quite a bit, making it so she had to run a little and find a hiding spot so she would not stress her foot too badly. She leaned her head back against the wall of a building enduring the pain of her ankle,” must’ve sprained it,” she whispered to herself. 

The voices of the men drew close again, so she moved again, that was when she met him. A man with dark red hair and dark amber eyes. She was drawn to him almost instantly, as if it were love at first sight. He looked her way for a moment, he was wearing white and red clothes under a blue coat with white stripes and had white bandages around his hands. His eyes widened as he saw the young woman, she was soaked because of the rain. 

He looked over to his men,” Go on without me, I will see to her. I won’t take long,” he promised them. His men nodded and walked ahead of him. He was surprised with how tall she was for a woman, putting that thought to the side he noticed her wincing as she put weight on her foot,” you shouldn’t move on that ankle, you will only make it worse,” he warned her as he leaned down and checked her ankle,” You have a pretty nasty sprain,” he informed her. So, she had been right about that she thought to herself. 

“Why did you stop to help me, a stranger?” She asked him confused. He looked up at her and smiled, “I saw that you may be injured and wanted to help. Not everyone needs a reason to help someone though,” he explained. She returned his smile with some shyness to it. Their moment didn’t last long as shouts were soon heard once again,” Great, they’re almost here. They don’t give up,” she said with an exasperated sigh. He looked down the street and saw the Ronin that had been chasing her. 

He narrowed his eyes angrily, “Don’t you worry ma’am, I won’t let them touch you,” he assured her as she was leaning her head against the building in pain. As the men approached them, he took his spear in one hand and readied a stance as he stood in front of the young woman. She watched him surprised, fighting was nothing new to her but having someone protect her instead of the other way around, that she was not accustomed to. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, not because she was in love, but from awe and respect for someone that would go out of his way to protect a stranger. 

He slammed his spear to the ground,” You have disturbed the peace, so you will be punished for it. Chasing a young woman to the point she gets injured is dishonorable!” he yelled at them angrily,” I, Sanosuke Harada Captain of the tenth division of the Shinsengumi shall defeat you all if you refuse to back down!” he declared as he lowed himself into a fighting stance holding his spear with both hands. This had caused the men to back away slightly,” A mibu wolf,” one of the men whispered in fear. One by one, the men ran in the other direction not wanting to deal with a member of the Shinsengumi. Once the men had scattered, he leaned his spear against the building and picked the young woman up and then asked one of his men to carry his spear for him. 

Surprised she looked up at him, her amethyst eyes meeting his dark amber eyes. He smiled as if to reassure her that it would be ok. “I don’t need to be carried off like a princess by a white knight,” she told him with a surprised tone in her voice. He laughed at her analogy,” No, but your ankle must hurt bad, so I rather carry you to our headquarters to have it treated over you making it worse. There aren’t any doctors awake at this hour otherwise I’d take you to one of them instead,” he responded with a smile. 

“So, your name is Sanosuke Harada huh? That was quite the intimidating speech you gave them, since I already know your name, I suppose I can give you my name. My name is Xai Celestial,” she told him as she looked up at him as he carried her. From time to time she looked back at the men following them back to the headquarters. Each step he took, and her ankle hit part of his body, pain was sent up her leg. He looked at her with concern noticing that she was enduring a lot of pain,” It’s nice to meet you Xai, endure a little longer we are almost there,” he told her with a concerned look. 

A little farther and he felt a weight on his shoulder, when he looked down, he saw that she had passed out from the pain. He looked at her with concern and continued to the headquarters. Wanting to get her to the headquarters quickly and since she had passed away, he sprinted there, the men followed behind keeping pace with him. Within five minutes they arrived at the gates, though to an angry man. His purple eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. 

“I told you your curfew, be lucky that I don’t make you take the punishment for breaking the rules,” he snapped. He looked over and then noticed a woman in the arms of Sanosuke,” Why did you bring a civilian here?” he asked coldly looking her over head to toe with his eyes. He moved his black ponytail behind his shoulder and approached Sanosuke,” she faint? Her ankle seems swollen too, let’s get her inside since you brought her here there is no saying what she may or may not here. If it comes to that there is no saying what will happen to her. Do you accept such responsibility on your shoulders for bringing her here?” he asked him as he looked Sanosuke square in the eye. 

“I accept responsibility, Vice Commander Hijikata. I apologize for being late, I had stopped to help her. At least seven ronin were chasing her, why I don’t know but I doubt it was a good reason, I will take any punishment you decide on,” he told the man with a serious tone to his voice. Hijikata thought for a moment and let out a sigh,” Let this be a warning. I will let it slide since you were helping someone. Hard to know what they would have done if they caught up to her,” he admitted as he led him into the headquarters common room. Once there, he laid her on a futon that Hijikata had rolled out, he smiled at him knowing that he wasn’t often this lenient. 

After laying Xai down, Sanosuke left the room and came back in with a first aid kit. Bending down on one knee he opened the kit and took out some bandage and wrapped it around her ankle so that it wasn’t too tight but tight enough to support the ankle so that I could heal up. After he finished wrapping her ankle, he took a cushion and placed it under her foot so that she could elevate her foot. Sanosuke looked over at Hijikata,” I will sleep in here tonight so that I can be here in case she needs something,” he told him as he pulled out a second spare futon. Scoffing Hijikata shrugged and muttered,” do as you wish,” then he walked off to go to bed himself. 

The next morning, the common room was crowded with the rest of the captains of the shinsengumi. Most of them were looking in shock at the fact that there was a woman sleeping in the common room. Sanosuke greeted them as they came in. A man with dark brown hair and blue eyes approached him,” Where the hell did you find a cute girl like her?” he asked clearly jealous. Sanosuke laughed,” Shinpachi I didn’t bring her here because I wanted to. She was being pursued by a group of ronin and hurt her ankle, with no doctors around at the time I brought her here to treat her ankle,” he explained. 

Shinpachi nudged at him sheepishly thinking he was just covering up, Sanosuke shook his head at his best friend sighing in exasperation. To shut him up he pulled his green bandana over his eyes. Shinpachi let out a yelp of surprise and took a minute to fix it, once he fixed it he shot his friend a playful glare. Another man that approached didn’t look to be a full-grown man despite being such, he had long brown hair in a ponytail with bluish eyes, he wore a yellow top mixed with purple. “Hey how come you two get all the fun?” He asked complaining. 

“Heisuke, I already told all of you, I only brought her here because at the time there were no open doctors. It was also raining, and she was soaked, and I didn’t want her to get sick,” Sanosuke explained once again showing signs of irritation since no one was listening to him. A man with a smirk on his face approached the two of them, he looked at the sleeping girl and then back at Sanosuke,” That’s what you say, but how are we to know you don’t want to say that to avoid punishment?” he asked with a smirk as he leaned over to touch her hair and Sanosuke stopped him with a glare. 

“Because, I was there when he came in with her, now knock your shit off Souji,” Hijikata snapped as he entered the room. A man with sandy brown hair, and hazel eyes, he wore a blue kimono and bowed sarcastically as Hijikata entered the room,” Good morning, Sannan,” Hijikata greeted. There was a man that had been standing in the back silently watching, he had purple hair in a low ponytail which trailed over his shoulder and bright blue eyes, he bowed to Hijikata as he entered the room,” Ah, Saito there you are was wondering where you were. I will have some work for you later,” he told him as he sat down. Saito nodded at him,” understood,” he muttered quietly. 

In the hall as the men were quieting down and finding their places to sit, two men entered the room. A man wearing a yellow kimono with black hair in an updo which showed some balding and then another man wearing a black kimono laughing as they entered the room, he too had black hair though unlike the other man his hair was not balding, and he had light brown eyes instead of hazel. Hijikata looked up as the two entered,” Kandou, Inoue I’m glad you made it for breakfast, though Sanosuke was going to wake our guest so we may all eat,” Hijikata said in greeting to the two as he shot Sanosuke a looked as if it had been an order. 

The two men looked over where Sanosuke was sitting in surprise,” oh my, there’s a young lady here,” Inoue said with a tone of surprise. Kondou had a look of surprise as well,” This is unusual, she doesn’t know anything does she?” he asked before Sanosuke shook her lightly to wake her up. Hijikata shook his head to affirm that she knew nothing that she should not. As she stirred, she opened her eyes and looked around and tried to sit up though it was obvious that it was not comfortable for her to do so. Sanosuke noticing this, helped her to sit up by letting her lean on him as he sat her up and repositioned her foot so that it was not being strained. “Where am I?” she asked quietly with a confused look. 

“You’re at the Shinsengumi headquarters,” Sanosuke explained,” I had to bring you here since it was late and a doctor wouldn’t help you if you were with me,” he continued as he held a somber look. A smile crossed her face which caused hearts across the room to skip a beat. “I appreciate you helping me then, most doctors are useless these days anyway,” she admitted as she sat up a little more. “The pain has gone down thanks to your help, anyway I don’t think I have met your comrades,” she said as she looked at the other members sitting around the room. 

Kondou sat down and looked at her with a smile,” Well, welcome to our headquarters. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to heal up. I am Isami Kondou, I am the commander of the Shinsengumi. Next to me is Genzaburou Inoue,” he told her as he motioned at the man next to him who had bowed at her,” It is a pleasure miss-“He motioned at her as if asking her name,” Xai Celestial,” she responded with a smile. “Beautiful name, I am the captain of the sixth division,” he continued. 

Kondou motioned at the next one in their sitting circle, a sly smile crossed his face,” Souji Okita Captain of the first division,” he shrugged and tilted his head to the next person,” Hajime Saito, captain of the third division,” he told her quietly with a bow and then looked at the person sitting next to him,”Heisuke Todou, captain of the eight division!” he said excitedly in what was almost a shout. Shinpachi hit him on the top of the head causing him to rub the top of his head in pain,” Shinpachi Nagakura, captain of the second division,” he told her with a smile as he sat back down from hitting Heisuke. 

Sannan nodded at her with a smile that was hard to distinguish if it were sincere or not,” Keisuke Sannan, I am the other Vice Commander much like Toshizo Hijikata,” he said motioning at Hijikata who was scowling at Heisuke for acting out once again. He then looked over at Xai,” Like he said my name is Toshizo Hijikata, there are two other members but you may or may not see them, they come and go,” he explained as he crossed his arms,” now that everyone introduced themselves let’s eat,” he said as he picked up his chopsticks. 

“Well, it is nice to meet you all, thank you for allowing me to stay though I am unsure why you told me your ranking and your name,” she admitted as she ate some of the rice rather slowly since it had too much salt. Shinpachi noticing the expression looked around,” who used too much salt again?” he asked rather disgruntled as he shoveled the rice in his mouth. No one answered his question, as everyone was eating their food. 

As soon as most of the men left the room, Xai checked her ankle noticing that it was nearly healed already. She touched it lightly when none of the men were looking her way so that she could finish the healing of her ankle. Then she removed the bandage,” Looks like it is better guess it wasn’t as bad as it felt,” she said with a smile. Stating that, she stood up to test her ankle out and like she had expected there was no pain. Sanosuke smiled at her,” I am glad your pain is gone, what do you plan to do now?” he asked her curiously. 

She thought for a moment, “I will probably go back to town and check into the hotel I was supposed to show up at last night. Given what you guys said about your reputation around here, I will just tell them I got delayed by a day,” she told him with a shrug. He smiled wryly and nodded,” probably a good idea, otherwise they may not allow you to stay there,” he told her with a somber look. Xai looked at him sadly but nodded and picked up her satchel, she shrugged it onto her shoulder and then started on her way out. Though she was stopped by Sanosuke,” Let me at least walk you out of the headquarters,” he offered. With a smile she nodded accepting his offer. The two of them then walked out the door together, he walked her to the gates that he brought her through the other night. “Be more careful so this doesn’t happen again, can’t always be there to help you,” he advised with a smile. “Don’t worry, Sanosuke I will be careful, that only happened because of the rain causing a plank of wood to fall on my ankle,” she explained. The two nod at each other and with a wave she left for town. 

Going the long way so it wouldn’t seem that she came from Mibu took longer than she had expected, as it was nearly sundown by the time, she reached Kyoto. Sighing, she looked around looking for the hotel she was booked to stay at. She then spotted it, a brown little building with the words ‘Ikedaya Inn’ plastered on the side of the building. “There it is,” she muttered to herself as she crossed from where she was standing and walked inside. 

“Oh, welcome to Ikedaya Inn,” a woman at the front said with a bow though she had not been expecting a customer at the moment. “Hello, my name is Xai Celestial, and I had reserved a room. I had planned to check in yesterday, but the rain delayed my trip from Edo,” she explained. The woman smiled at her and nodded,” Ah yes, I am glad that you made it safely your room is right this way miss Celestial,” she said as she motioned for her to follow her to her room. Xai followed her and as they reached the room, she thanked her and the two bowed to each other and then the woman walked off to return to her duties. She looked around the room, it was on the small side with a rolled-up futon in the corner with a blanket folded next to it. “I still can’t get used to how different it is here,” she said to herself as she looked out the window. Despite having no where to go overseas where she was from, she missed it all the same. She closed her eyes to stop herself from crying. 

It was then that she sensed someone above her room’s roof, looking up she removed part of the roof and heard footsteps moving away from the room, not appreciating being spied on, she jumped up there herself crouching low enough that she could move across just as quickly and cornered the person close to her room. The spy had in fact been a man with long brown hair held a ponytail with purple eyes,” who are you and why are you watching my room?” she asked him angrily. The man looked at her shocked,” You could tell I was there despite how silent I was,” he stammered. “Of course, I could, I can feel energy from people around me. Tell me are you one of those two members Hijikata spoke of that I would or would not meet?” she demanded as she held him by the scruff of his shirt. 

“Yes, now if you would kindly release me, I will tell you why I am here, preferably in your room,” he told her as he grabbed at the hand that was grabbing his kimono. “Fine, but no funny stuff as I move in front of you,” she warned as she made her way back to her room. Once in her room, she backed away from the hole in the roof and he jumped down and joined her and then another man appeared after him. She raised a brow at the two of them. “Ninja, huh?” she asked to no one in particular. The two looked at her in surprise but said nothing, “First let’s get to know each other I am Susumu Yamazaki, and my companion here is Kai Shimada,” he told her as he motioned at the bigger man. He wore a green kimono with a black trail where it folded. The other man wore a red kimono, he had his black hair in an updo, and he smiled at her with kind looking amber yellow eyes. She thought for a moment as she heard their introductions. 

“I would normally say it’s nice to meet you but right now I am not so sure since you were spying on my room. Where I am from, they call that a peeping tom,” she told the two of them irritably. They looked at her confused,” So, you aren’t from Japan normally?” the two of them asked. She shook her head,” No, I’m from overseas, why I am here though is my business that I don’t wish to share with you,” she told them in a mater of a fact tone. “I’m assuming I don’t need to tell you my name either since you work for Hijikata,” she said a little irritated. The two of them nodded to confirm that she was right, she shook her head and looked at the ground. 

“Anyway, know that we weren’t sent to spy on you but to warn you of an attack that will happen here soon,” Yamazaki informed her as his partner nodded his head as to confirm what he was saying. She stood there and thought for a moment,” So be it, I have nowhere else to go so I suppose I will just have to know of the attack and make sure innocent people aren’t dragged into it,” she told him with a small smile. “I appreciate the warning though you could have just come through the door and then you wouldn’t have alarmed me in the manner you did,” she told him as she crossed her arms. He smiled at her wryly,” I suppose you are right about that, though he ordered us not to be seen by the other members- “she raised her brow and tapped her foot,” perhaps a message then?” she said growing more irritated by the second. 

The two men averted her eyes and then bowed and excused themselves having finished their jobs. As soon as they left her room they returned to the Shinsengumi headquarters, they looked as if they wanted to drop where they stood. Hijikata looked at the two of them,” Is there a problem?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Yamazaki shook his head, “No, vice-commander, just surprised that she could tell we were above her room despite not having made a sound,” he informed him which had caused a surprised look from Hijikata as well. 

He thought for a moment on what he had just been told, he realized she may need some actual observation. “This woman appears to be rather unique, they to observe her from a distance without being caught if possible,” he ordered though he got two nervous looks in response. He gave the two of them an exasperated look and dismissed them. That was when Souji came into the room,” able to find them when they are silent she sounds like fun,” he told Hijikata as he let out a laugh,” I wonder how she is in a fight,” he wondered aloud as Hijikata shot him a glare as a warning which caused him to leave the room. 

At the inn tension could be felt in the air, sitting in her room Xai could hear every conversation going on around her. She closed her eyes as she focused on a certain conversation, talk about an attack and then there was word about the place and time. “It would seem those two were right about their information but will they see through their trickery I wonder,” she wondered aloud to herself. She then stood and changed from the purple kimono with yellow butterfly decorations to a black garb that was easy to move in. There was a piece that covered her mouth and black boots and gloves. If she was to warn the innocent people she wanted to be an unknown person.

[piduai]

3Z Gumi - Ginpachi Sensei (4)

Lesson 1:

Cram school tutors often say that you don’t have to get full marks as long as it’s seventy-and-something (4/?)

part 1 part 2  part 3

So the meeting resumed.

“In short” Ginpachi said, dropping the ash from his lit cigarette on the floor. “You need to get over eighty points by any means” he put a great emphasis on the word “means”.

“Sensei, what do you mean by that?” Shinpachi asked.

“Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Ginpachi grinned maliciously. “You’ll have to resort to cheating.”

Cheating? CHEATING?! The Shining?! Shaman King-ing?!

The class was in great confusion.

Ginpachi, who malicious aura just got scarier, continued:

“Clearly. If you cheat on your tests, getting over eighty points should be as easy as taking candy from a baby.”

“Sensei! This is child abuse!” Kagura-chan declared.

“If you don’t shut up I’ll steal from you” Ginpachi retorted.

“But, Sensei, still, cheating is a little too much…” Shinpachi felt it’s imperative to speak out about it. He was the conscience of this classroom. Sure, he played the role of the tsukkomi, so working against such deeds should only come as natural to him.

“You moron” Ginpachi uttered in exasperation. “This is a test counter-measure meeting. Which means it equals it’s a meeting to discuss cheating, innit?”

“Your sense of what is equal to what is a little off!”

But as he said that, he heard another voice:

“Shinpachi.” this time it was his own sister, Tae, who stood up.

“Sister…”

“Shinpachi…” Tae’s expression, for some reason, was overflown with affection. “Aren’t you a boy? Boys should know one or two things about cheating.”

“No, your passive aggression won’t work here.”

“Are you afraid of being caught? It’s alright. You only have to write out the word “caught” on your palm for three times then swallow it, and you will definitely come out safe.”

(t/n: in Japanese superstition there’s this trick where you have to write out the character for “human” (hito, 人) on the palm of your hand and “drink” it, this way you will calm your nerves)

“This is literally the first time I hear about this kind of charm! Actually I’m fairly sure it doesn’t exist!”

“Hey, Shimura Junior” Ginpachi’s drawling voice came through. “It’s not the time for such useless stuff. You don’t want to be stuck here overtime, do you? Nor do I want my pay cut.”

“But still…”

The class has recreated to Shinpachi’s doubts: Shinpachi! Shinpachi-kun! Let’s do it! Shinpachi-kun! That’s right, Shinpachi-kun! Pachi-kun!

“No, wait, it’s still not right! We’re talking about cheating here! AND it’s encouraged by the form teacher!” Shinpachi tried to speak out against it, but the Pachi-kun fever won’t leave the class.

What a weird bunch…

Shinpachi tried to look out for supporters in the mass. Then he remembered: Hedoro-kun. He might have a face to scare anyone out of their pants, but his heart is pure. He will surely be against cheating… or so Shinpachi thought.

“Let’s cheat together, Shinpachi-kun” Hedoro-kun said in a sinister way.

Him, too?! Well, he easily catches on the atmosphere from the class, so seeing him agree to cheat is not that unusual. Or is it?! Shinpachi was getting confused.

Seeing him this distressed, Ginpachi pressed on: “Just relax, Shinpattsuan!”

“It’s still against the rules. We can’t do it.”

“Okay, fine, I get it!” Ginpachi was displeased. “Then at the next culture festival we’ll ask the idol, Terakado Tsuu, to be our guest! I’ll ask at the staff meeting! You can’t complain about that, right?”

Terakado… Tsuu…

Shimura Shinpachi – the head of the Terakado Tsuu groupie fanclub – felt like a jet of light just went through his entire body.

“Like hell I can’t! Yall! Bastards! Think about a way to cheat our way in without being caught this instant!” with this, Shinpachi had a change of heart.

“So we’re cheating alright.” Ginpachi lit another cig. “Do any of you have any substantial ideas?”

Everyone went into deep thought.

Cheating. If you think about it, it’s not that easy after all. Well, the act of it was simple enough – writing the answers on your pencil case or the back of your eraser, asking someone sitting nearby – there are many and one ways around it. But in this case, everyone in the class had to get high marks. It’s not about someone individually or a bunch of people, but every last one. If they can’t come up with a way in which everyone has free access to information, it’s all useless.

Hijikata-kun raised his hand.

“Sensei, I have an idea.”

“Spit it out.”

“We use mayonnaise. You see, we right the answers to the test on the blackboard, but with mayonnaise. Then, before the test starts, we wipe it off. If the angle is right, the sun will hit the blackboard just right, so we can see the grease left from the mayonnaise there.”

“Cool. Someone else?” Ginpachi asked, turning away from Hijikata-kun.

“Why dismiss it so easily! You could have considered my idea for a bit!”

“You dipshit. Like your ideas from the Mayonnaise Empire could work in the real world.”

Hijikata-kun has shut up sulkily, and Okita-kun has raised in his stead.

“Sensei! I have an idea.”

“Give it a go.”

“How about we knock out the test supervisors with some blunt weapons, or put them to sleep using chloroform-“

“Anyone else?”

“Then hear me out, Sensei” this time it was Kondo-kun. “How about we all master sign language? Then we can easily tell each other the answers using it-“

“Anyone else? There’s gotta be something else.”

“Sensei!” it was Kagura-chan’s turn. “I have an idea, have I!”

“Two positives in a sentence? Whatever. Let’s hear it out.”

“It’d be difficult to pull such a stunt using only the force available in this classroom, so I suggest we use the help of an outsider.”

“Huh?” Ginpachi seemed interested. “Finally something worth my time. Tell me about the details.”

Kagura chuckled, and explained herself:

“There’s this dog we keep at this school, there is. We could use Sadaharu for this.”

Having a dog hang around a school like in the case of said dog, Sadaharu, was no rarity. Nobody really knows at which point and how Sadaharu got to the school and started living in it, but there he was. For some reason he was particularly attached to Kagura-chan, who even gave him this name. The only thing is, he’s huge as a bear and has a habit of chewing on people’s heads every time he gets the chance, but it’s inessential.

“Oh, that dog. So how do we use him?” said Ginpachi.

“We’ll have him bark for us from the outside. If the answer is A, he barks once, if it’s B, he barks twice, and so on.”

“I see” Ginpachi sighed. “But you don’t. I see. We’ll make that dog bark. But how to put it… Who is going to feed Sadaharu the answers? Speaking of which, is that dog intelligent enough to pull out a stunt like this? Who’s gonna train him? Before you open your mouth try thinking a little next time, China girl.”

“You got it, you shitty China girl?!” asked Kagura-chan, grabbing Shinpachi by the collar.

“He was obviously addressing to you! Both “China” and “girl” are addressed to you!”

“You lot really do have bavarian cream for brains. Can’t anyone take this seriously?” Ginpachi started getting annoyed, pacing back and forth. “For example, you here, Shimura Tae. Why don’t you use your good physique to pleasure two or three teachers so they can tell you the answers beforeha-“ but before he could finish what he wanted to say, something flew out of Tae’s general direction at high speed. Brushing against Ginpachi’s cheek, a mechanical pencil got stuck in the blackboard, wriggling slightly.

“Oh, Sensei, you silly. Next time I won’t miss.” Tae said with a gleeful laugh.

“I, uh, er, I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me, I sincerely apologize.” Ginpachi replied feebly.

At the time, Shinpachi realized something. Forget about cheating, there was something they were grievously forgetting about…

“Excuse me, can I have a word?” he announced, standing up.

“What is it, tsukkomi?” asked the form teacher.

“Don’t you address me by the role! Address me by the name!” but he quickly regained control of himself, and went on: “If I think about it, it seems that we’re forgetting about something important.”

“Wassup, wassup, you’re suddenly a detective, Mr. Plain Four-Eyes Tsukkomi?” Kagura-chan interrupted.

“Did she call me plain? Did she just call me plain?!”

He considered wrestling the China girl for a moment, but abandoned the idea and went back to his initial train of thought:

“Well you see, cheating suggests that you already know the answers to a test and sneak them with your when you’re being tested, right? Like, for example, if you had a math test, or a chemistry one, or a check of vocabulary in English, your answers would need preparation, right? But in our case, given how we all have to get over eighty points, so we can’t go in easy as that, we need to get grasp of those answers before the tests somehow, don’t we? And we all need to cheat at on at least one subject, right? Therefore, even if we stay here and come up with different ways of cheating, it all would be kind of meaningless, you get my idea?”

But the Z class, who all did have bavarian cream for brains, did not get his idea.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” but nobody, including Ginpachi, could say anything to that.

It went silent for a while, but in the end, Ginpachi opened his mouth:

“What you’re trying to say, Shinpachi-kun, is that we need to get the answers to the tests before the tests themselves for cheating, right?”

“Yes.”

“And while at that, we need to decide at which subject you will all cheat.”

“Obviously.”

“Well, you see” Ginpachi gave him a weak smile. “It’s impossible to get the answers before the test.”

“But aren’t you going to make one of those tests yourself? You’re the Japanese teacher, you could just tell us the answers for your own test.”

“Well, you see, in this case I leave the job for a normal teacher, you know? Not the one who would trouble themselves with the deep connection of boke and tsukkomi.”

“Wait, did you just admit that you’re abnormal?”

Shinpachi waited for an answer, but Ginpachi couldn’t come up with one. Then he spoke, combing through his words carefully:

“So you see, Shinpachi-kun, we can’t really cheat our way through this.”

“Yeah” Shinpachi grabbed his chin, gazing at the ceiling. “I noticed that during my long monologue here.”

“So that’s it… We can’t do it. It’s impossible. Out of our reach. If we don’t know the questions… Hey, you, stop playing with me!!” Ginpachi got angry.

“I was full on the idea of cheating… I mean, letting yall cheat! It’s like, say, you wanted to eat some curry today and went to a shop that sells it but it turned out to be on break, and you’re all like “hey, I had an appetite for curry and now I’m bitter about it” kind of disappointment! Speaking of which, what is there to be bitter about?!”

“Like hell I know!” Shinpachi yelled, snorting chalk out of his nose.

The cheating situation, still not diffused. Faced with this reality, the Z class erupted in noise again, this time jumping on the subject of Shinpachi himself.

Are you freakin’ kidding me, four-eyes! You just stomped over all out dreams! Shut up, why are you attacking ME anyway?! Shut up, you plain-ass! P-p-plain?! Who the hell just called me plain?!

The peace of Z class was disrupted again.

[rike-with-love]

Be Mine (chapter 2)

Pairings: Okikagu

Rating: M for mature content, bad language, violence, angst

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or it's characters, Sorachi Hideaki does. I only own this story.

Author’s notes: I have a link to my fanfiction masterlist on my profile. Please check it out for more chapters and fics!

Chapter 2

Queen of the Kabuki district was having the best time of her life. She was lounging in her bunny patterned pyjamas. ”Gin-chan, bring me more food, my fuel is low,” Kagura ordered. ”You aren't even doing anything Kagura-chan, watching soap operas doesn't require fuel,” Gintoki said in a bored voice.

Gintoki walked in front of the tv with his pink ruffled apron (Kagura's choice obviously). ”Hey, I'm missing the best part, get out of the way you JUMP reading madao!” Kagura yelled while she was stuffing her last ten sukonbus into her mouth.

Gintoki shook his head and said: ”You know Kagura-chan, while you have grown up physically your manners have gone down the toilet just like Otae's cooking skills.” (Gintoki and Kagura both shivered a bit just by thinking about the dark matter Otae calls food).

Shinpachi entered the Yorozuya shop. ”Good morning Gin-san, Kagura-chan!” Shinpachi said with a cheerful smile, like always. ”Oh, it's the cleaning glasses, Gin-chan you can now give him your apron,” Kagura said with a cocky voice. ”Ah, yes, my queen's word is the law.” Gintoki bowed to Kagura and threw the apron at Shinpachi.

”I am not your cleaning ANYTHING!” Shinpachi said with his ”calm” straight man's voice and put on the apron. Shinpachi walked next to Gintoki and whispered: ”What is this queen thing you are doing?”

Gintoki threw his arm over Shinpachi and said: ”I made a bet with her, that she couldn't find every single one of my adult magazine hiding spots. I don't know how that bet even came up, but it did...I lost...and here's the result Pachi-boy.” Shinpachi's inner voice was screaming with panic. Gintoki was the one who taught him to hide his...you know. I need to hide them better, Shinpachi thought to calm his mind.

It was a rather slow day at the Yorozuya Gin-chan. Shinpachi had lost his temper only six times. Gintoki was reading the same JUMP for the 9th time. Sadaharu was taking a good long nap in the middle of his tiring naps.

Kagura had managed to change into her normal clothes. She was in their bathroom fixing her hair. She loved to tie her long vermillion hair into two ponytails. Kagura placed her black and gold hair ornaments on her hair and she was ready to go out for a walk. She most definitely wasn't polishing up for anyone else, but she remembered it was ”duel day”.

Kagura was looking at her reflection from the mirror with a slightly sad face. I look more like mommy now...I miss her so much. I miss papi too, I haven't seen him in two years. I wished that he would have at least visited six months ago when I turned 18. She thought.

”Kagura, get out of the bathroom, other people have business in there!” Gintoki shouted with a hint of desperation in his voice. Kagura took one last look at herself and shook her sadness away. She kicked the bathroom door open and ”accidentally” hit her earth dad with it. ”Don't rush a blooming lady when she is grooming herself!” Kagura grunted.

Kagura was about to take Sadaharu for a walk. ”Kagura-chan, bring us parfaits and toilet paper!” Gintoki muttered from the bathroom. Kagura rolled her eyes and hummed once as an answer. All of a sudden someone familiar was at the door. Kagura sensed who was there before any knocks were made. Gintoki exited the bathroom and was about to complain some more about the lack of toilet paper. Kagura rushed for the door and slid it wide open. ”Papi!”

There he was in flesh and blood, Umibouzu the greatest alien hunter of the galaxy. ”Hello, Kagura.” Umibouzu greeted his dear daughter. ”My my, you have grown so much since I last saw you!” Umibouzu gloated with happy daddy aura. Kagura ran into his arms and giggled with excitement. ”I missed you so much”! Kagura said.

Gintoki and Shinpachi came to greet the great Umibouzu (the one who promised to crush their family jewels if some scumbag made any moves on his sweet and innocent Kagura). ”Papi, what are you doing here?” Kagura inquired as she pulled her father inside the apartment. ”Let's sit down first, all of you,” Umibouzu said with a serious voice.

After everyone was seated Kagura was looking at her father with an adoring smile. ”So, still bald, eh?” Gintoki stated. Shinpachi elbowed Gintoki to his side. ”Yare yare, it was an icebreaker, calm your temples.” Gintoki nervous laughed.

Kagura was sitting next to her father and she was smiling. Umibouzu began to speak: ”I came to earth to see you Kagura, my now adult daughter. I need to tell you a story that took place when your mother was still alive.” Kagura's eyes began to sparkle, she loved to hear stories about her mother. It wasn't a happy story.

FLASHBACK

Umibouzu had finally found what he had been looking for this whole time, an Altana crystal for Kouka. There was a tiny problem. An infamous Yato named Orochi. He was almost as famous as Umibouzu himself. Orochi used to serve under the Yato king Housen. Orochi had his own ambitions so he deflected Housen. Orochi and his most loyal friends created a pirate group called Kuro Orochi.

Orochi had found one ultra-rare Altana crystal and was now selling it to the highest bidder. Umibouzu didn't have anything as exotic as many other bidders. He decided to be blunt about it: ”Orochi, tell me what you want, and I get it for you.”

Orochi was amused, he thought about it for a while, and then it came to him. ”Umibouzu, you have a pure blooded Yato daughter, don't you?” Orochi inquired. Umibouzu nodded. What about my sweet Kagura you sleazy man, Umibouzu thought.

”I want her as my bride when she turns 18 years old,” Orochi announced. Umibouzu was a bit shocked, but then he thought about it: He is strong and rich. He could watch over her when I can't. Also, he is a Yato, and my daughter could live as a proud alien hunter under Kuro Orochi's flag. Orochi can't be that bad of a man. Umibouzu was ready to make the trade, Kouka was getting weaker day by day and this crystal could heal her.

”I accept,” Umibouzu said. Orochi stood up from his chair and walked to Umibouzu. ”Great, thanks,” Orochi said. ”I hope you know that if you break your part of the deal, I'll destroy everything that is important to you, your family, your friends and your reputation. Are we clear O' great Umibouzu?” He added. Umibouzu took a deep breath. ”Crystal clear,” Umibouzu said and the two Yato warriors shook hands. Orochi handed the crystal to Umibouzu.

FLASHBACK ENDS

”So, Kagura you know how it went down when I came back with the crystal, Kamui attacked me, and your mother was already too weak,” Umibouzu concluded his story with a defeated voice. Shinpachi's jaw was rolling all over the floor. Gintoki's hair began to fall off as he scratched his head with speed like no other. Kagura was looking at his father. Her expression was very confused. ”Kagura?.” Umibouzu called her.

”I'm ENGAGED?! Or rather, I have been engaged to some lame old madao since I've been a child?!” Kagura yelled as she stood up. All three men were silent and just stared at her. ”How could you do this to me papi? You have no right to make up my life!” Kagura yelled even louder.

Before Kagura could continue, Umibouzu stood up and interrupted his daughter's understandable rant. ”Kagura, the deal has been made, there's nothing you or I can do about it!” He said. Kagura was looking straight into his father's eyes. She felt angry.

”I did it all for your mother. Do you understand that?” Umibouzu asked. His words made Kagura frown her brows and changed her anger to sadness. Umibouzu sighed and placed his hands on Kagura's shoulders. ”You look just like your beautiful mother,” Umibouzu said and hugged his daughter. Kagura teared up and hugged him back.

”I must go for now to handle some business, but I'll come back tomorrow and tell you more about Orochi and everything,” Umibouzu said while wiping Kagura's tears away. Kagura was looking down on her feet. Gintoki was collecting whatever was left of Shinpachi, but he kept his eyes on Kagura. ”Kagura, do you understand why I made the deal?” Umibouzu asked. Kagura lifted her head and nodded calmly.

Gintoki was surprised by Kagura's reaction and he thought: How is the tremendously rude and stubborn girl suddenly accepting her father's words. Umibouzu made his leave and left an interesting atmosphere behind him. Sadaharu walked to Kagura and pushed his wet nose against her cheek. Kagura just padded Sadaharu's head in return. ”I'm going out now, do not follow me. I'll kill anyone who does, got it?” Kagura said with a fake smile. Gintoki and reincarnated Glasses nodded in unison.

Kagura took off quickly but quietly. ”Look Gin-san, she forgot her parasol, what should we do?” Shinpachi asked. ”It's almost sunset, I'm sure she can manage without it for one evening,” Gintoki said. Neither Gintoki or Shinpachi didn't know how to address the matter they just learned. ”Let's go Pachi, we are out of toilet paper,” Gintoki said bluntly.

As the two men were walking outside in silence, Shinpachi couldn't take it anymore: ”Kagura is getting married! What are we going to do?” Gintoki silenced him with his hand and lead them into a nearby alley. ”What is wrong with you? We don't know all the details of this strange situation, so don't speak about it in public.” Gintoki hissed at Shinpachi.

Shinpachi sighed and said: ”I have to tell sis, she can help Kagura-chan in this situation. She and Kagura-chan are close friends after all.” ”Yeah, you might be onto something, Kagura-chan does lack in psychogorillawoman skills,” Gintoki said as he picked his nose. ”My ane-ue is not a gorilla woman...completely!” Shinpachi mumbled. Their conversation went on for a while. Then the infamous Captain Okita of the Shinsengumi interrupted them.

Kagura found herself wandering aimlessly around Edo. She needed to find a peaceful place to calm herself down. Kagura decided to go to her favourite place, the riverbank in Kabuchiko. That was a place she had nice memories with her earth family and friends (and a certain sadist).

Kagura sat down near the river and stared at the sky. What the actual fuck just happened...? Engaged? I can't be engaged, how the hell am I going to be the greatest alien hunter in the galaxy if have to get married? Dammit papi... Kagura thought as she hugged her knees.

Kagura pressed her forehead to her knees and thought about her mother: ”Mami...papi did this for you. I maybe understand that part. I just feel so...hurt, like I'm someone's property. I need to beat papi up real good as punishment, he has some more explaining to do, Kagura thought and lifted her head up. She liked the sunset.

Kagura felt a familiar presence. It's sadist...oh right, I forgot our duel day...I don't want to see him today... Kagura thought. He was calling her with some obnoxious names again. Kagura decided to ignore him completely, that was the way to deal with attention seeking little brats. She was calming herself down by pulling some grass from the ground.

After a while, he got under her skin and she tried to make him leave her alone. Suddenly Kagura found herself from the river. A very angry Kagura decided to kill the sadist, plain and simple. She got up from the river and shook herself dry. Kagura had forgotten her troubles for a moment and was now ready to battle with full force. Sougo always made her lose focus on anything other than him, it was truly infuriating.

The sadistic duo fought for a while. Why the hell is he staring at me with those piercing eyes of his? Kagura thought. When Sougo drew out his katana, Kagura hoped that she would have brought her umbrella. I need to beat him up and fast. She thought.

Kagura saw her opportunity to disarm Sougo. It was weirdly easy to do like his focus wasn't on the fight at all. She watched as Sougo fell into the river, ah sweet revenge. It sure felt good to see him drag himself up from the river. ”Damn you China, now my clothes are wet too,” Sougo shouted. Kagura had a facade smile of victory, she tried to hide the fact that something huge was bothering her.

Kagura's smile dropped a bit and her eyes widened. Sougo took off his wet jacket and now he was wearing his dark blue pants, a white, wet and now see-through shirt. Sougo had always been a fit man, but now as he had grown up...oh my. Kagura noticed his broad shoulders and sharp jawline. Sougo wiped his wet hair with one hand from blocking his sight, and somehow that made Kagura's throat dry up.

Kagura swallowed a dry lump as her eyes ran through Sougo's build. His abs and chest were visible through the wetness of his shirt. Sougo's words snapped Kagura of her deep thoughts. ”Now, will you tell me what's wrong? Or do I need to force it out of you?” Sougo asked with a serious look on his face. Kagura looked away and thought: How the hell he knows? That is so annoying...and sweet, but sadists aren't sweet. What the hell?

”Mumble mumble...that poor tree, you can be so careless sometimes...” Sougo said. Kagura didn't hear the beginning of his words, but she was already pissed off. Kagura let out a battle roar and charged at Sougo. As they exchanged blows, Kagura thought about their rivalry.

We have been rivals since I was 14 years old. He was always such an asshole, well...still is. As our interactions grew lesser over time, I felt kind of lonely, or maybe just hungry, I'm often hungry. I'm still glad that we have our weekly fights, it's not like they are the highlight of my week or anything but it's nice to beat that bastard up once in a while.

In the middle of a pushing contest, Kagura noticed Sougo staring straight into her eyes. ”What the hell are you staring sadist?” Kagura yelled. Then Sougo said something that baffled Kagura completely: ”I'm looking at your beautiful blue eyes, I could stare at them all day.” Kagura lost her strength and balance. Sougo was still pushing her so he lost his balance as well. Both of them fell onto the ground. Sougo fell on top of Kagura and lifted himself up to lean on his forearms.

Kagura was looking into Sougo's crimson eyes and she couldn't look away. Feeling him being so close to her made her heart flutter. Kagura's breathing was rapid, mostly on exhaustion and partly from him. Neither of them said anything. This is so weird, I would never let anyone this close to me, especially this bastard, so why does this feel so good? Kagura thought.

Sougo wasn't looking at her eyes anymore. Kagura gasped a bit as he leaned closer to her. Kagura was so overwhelmed by these feelings and the tension she had to closed her eyes. Kagura felt Sougo's intense breath hit her sensitive neck which made her let out an unintentional moan. Kagura felt Sougo tense up.

Kagura's mind was running wild: S-s-sadist...I can't move at all. You shouldn't put a pure young woman into these kinds of situations. I know I'm a beautiful and irresistible young single woman...single...oh dammit! Kagura's eyes popped open and there he was eyes closed inches away from her.

I'm sort of engaged, oh shitshitshit, what the hell am I going to do? I have to get away from him and fast, Kagura thought with slight panic. She kneed Sougo in the place Gin-chan had taught to her to kick if a man was too close to her. Sougo flew off Kagura with a painful grunt. Kagura jumped up and shouted: ”Don't ever do that again, you big stupid...asshat!

Sougo was left holding his crotch as Kagura sprinted away as fast as she could. That was so weird, and completely stupid sadist's fault, I didn't do anything, no-no dammit, Kagura thought as she ran. Alright, it's over now, I just need to get home and forget this ever happened. Kagura convinced to herself. Kagura thought that this occurrence would just blow over in time, but she kind of knew it wouldn't by the uncontrollable beating of her heart.

[hakuyamazakisensei]

For Eevee on her Birthday!!

I hope you like this little drabble, featuring your best boys! <3 @eheartangel

And thank you @kondo-hijikata for beta-reading! :)

Shinpachi pulled a bandana from his back pocket and mopped his brow. His bare torso glistened with sweat in the afternoon sun, and he muttered a string of curses under his breath about the scorching heat. Taking a moment to relax, he surveyed his work with a critical eye; the roof was more than three-quarters of the way shingled, but it would take him the remainder of the day to finish if help didn’t arrive soon. Just as that thought occurred to him, the sound of a vehicle pulling into the drive caught his attention. Shin stood from his crouched position and moved closer to the edge of the roof. Peering down, he watched Hachiro Iba step from his small car and look around.

“Oi, Hachiro! Up here.” Shin shouted at the younger man, whose startled green eyes swept upward to the rooftop.

“Shinpachi-san! Are you up there alone?”

“Yep! Sano and the squirt were busy this morning so I’m by myself today.”

“Isn’t that a bit foolhardy? What if you fell?”

Shin raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. “Are you callin’ me a fool, Hachiro?”

Iba craned his neck upward and flashed a sheepish grin, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Not at all! But you have to admit, it’s dangerous to be up there with no one around to call for help if you fall.”

“Fall? Me?! You must be joking. I’m more agile than a cat!” He clambered down the ladder two rungs at a time and trotted over to Iba with a grin. “What are you doing here, anyway? I know you weren’t planning on climbing up there with that busted arm.”

Iba shook his head a bit dejectedly and said, “No, I’m just here to check on progress for Toshi-san. He wants to keep Kondo-san updated himself.” He paused for a moment and then admitted sheepishly, “And Shiori wanted me to remind you that you had a date with Etsu tonight.”

“I know that! I’ll be ready in plenty of time.”

“Well, you said that the last time, too, Shinpachi-san. And I was the one who had to listen to Shiori trounce your name into the dirt for forgetting.”

Shin chuckled and threw an arm around Iba’s shoulders, careful not to jostle his broken arm. He moved toward the porch, propelling Iba along with him.

“I promise, I won’t forget. Etsu is really looking forward to tonight, and I’ll be damned if I let her down.”

Iba nodded and relaxed, his good-natured smile returning immediately.

“I’m hot as hell! How about a cold drink while I bring you up to speed on the house?” Shin asked, plopping down on one ice chest while scrounging around in another.

“Do you have anything sweet?” Iba asked, peeking into the cooler with interest.

“Yeah, I’m sure Heisuke has something in here. I don’t know how you two do it. Sweet and heat do not go together, my friend!”

Iba laughed as he reached in and grabbed a can. “What about this?” he asked, holding it up for Shin’s inspection.

“Nah, that’s kind of bitter. Let me see....” Shin reached in and dug around until he found what he was looking for, then passed it over to Iba. “This stuff is so sweet it’ll make your hair curl. Heisuke loves it.”

“Cream soda? I’ve never tried it.”

Shinpachi grabbed a sports drink and watched as Iba popped the top off his soda and took a tentative sip. His eyes lit up and he took another drink, causing Shinpachi to laugh.

“Yeah, I figured you’d like that one. So tell me, Iba. How are things with Shiori? Getting serious?”

At the mention of his girlfriend’s name, Iba smiled, a soft blush covering his cheeks.

“Shiori....is amazing!” he told Shinpachi, his eyes alight with fondness. “I still find myself staring at her sometimes, wondering why on earth she... well, you know...why she chose me.”

“Tch, none of that shit. You know you’re a good guy, so don’t go selling yourself short. Besides, I don’t see Shiori picking some loser, do you?”

Iba expelled a breath but had to agree. Shiori wouldn’t choose a loser. He shook his head and looked around at Kondo-san’s newest purchase.

“So tell me how things are coming along here. It looks like you’ve gotten quite a bit done since the last time I dropped by.”

“We only have the shingling and touch-up work to do now. Kondo-san will be able to move in next week!”

The two men shared a brief moment of amused silence as they each thought of their boss. He was a tender-hearted man, and had immediately set out to build a larger house once he learned that he had been accepted as a possible foster parent. He had wanted to ensure he had ample room for the child —or children— who came to his home.

“That’s great news! Toshi-san will be very glad to hear it. You know how much he enjoys being able to share positive things with Kondo-san.”

“Ha, yeah, though he’d never admit it. I guess he thinks we’re too blind to see that he’s just a big softie at heart, eh?”

Iba spluttered his drink. “Don’t let Toshi-san hear you say that!”

Shin laughed and slapped Iba on the back. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the “Demon”?”

“What? No, but I don’t like seeing him get upset all the time, either. It isn’t good for him....or us.”

They finished their drinks and then Shinpachi gave Iba brief tour of the completed house. It was a large 5 bedroom, three bath structure, with one of the largest back yards either man had ever seen. Kondo has specifically requested that when he first set out to find the perfect spot for his new home. There were already swings and slides set up, and a large sandbox in the center of the yard. Near the back fence, an area had been set up for badminton, tennis, or volleyball, and along the other side of the yard, nets had been set up for soccer or lacrosse. The only thing missing was a pool, and Kondo had been adamant that there not be one; his fear of one of his foster children drowning making him put his foot down on that one.

Iba took notes as they walked around, chatting constantly while Shin strolled beside him. Once they returned to the porch, Iba shook Shin’s hand and then headed out. Shin took out his phone and checked the time —just past three in afternoon. He looked at the sky, noting the cloudless blue with a mix of relief —no sign of rain— and loathing.

It was unbearably hot, and that finally made up Shinpachi’s mind. He would take the remainder of the day off. He could not be late for his date with Etsu, not after missing the entire thing last time. He still felt bad about that, though Etsu had been very forgiving. He grabbed his shirt and moved out to his pickup, tossing his tools into the truck bed before hopping inside. Before heading toward home, he dialed Sano’s number. He’d let those two idiots deal with the rest of the roof. He had plans with the love of his life.

[akelyokikagu]

Boyfriend, What Boyfriend?

 Sometimes your girlfriend cheats on you for a Giant

Now, Okita Sougo wasn’t mad. He wasn’t at all. There was no reason in getting irritated just because his alleged girlfriend— China girl, for those who didn’t know yet— had cheated on him with a giant, of all things. The news came later then expected since the vixen decided to never confess her sin, and he was too busy to watch the new episodes his cool self didn’t appear in. At least, the rakugo program looked far less boring to his taste. Why should he ever worry about China when no one would see her as a female, and that he, the prodigy bishonen had proposed to her?

Apparently a giant dickhead of the giant dicks' planet.

And she accepted.

To remind people, for good measure, he was everything a girl could dream of nowadays: handsome, high-ranked officer, prodigy and young. Sure he could come out sadistic, but didn't Fifty Shades of Red become a bestseller with movies following one another? The actor wasn't half as good as he were, in both beauty and… capable hands. No, Okita was sure that most girls would easily bow down to him in pure adoration.

However an alien girl as eccentric as China probably didn't count as "most girl" for sure she was everything but normal or common which was partly why he had chosen her, of all people. It never came to him that amongst her flaws— being a glutton, dirty-mouthed like a sailor and overall, unfeminine and vulgar— she was a cheater. Not that Okita never exploded the parasites approaching her, and even when fairly handsome males begged her for a date she wouldn't spare a glance without the mention of food, free food to be exact.

All the chaos, in a nutshell, could explain why exactly his feet were loudly drumming against the floor of the park while he sat arms-crossed on their bench. At the very least China was decent in not bringing the intruder to their bench, their love nest, if love meant intense sparring with long, long strings of curses. Fortunately for the world, Kagura was already trotting towards Okita without noticing his sour mood.

"Hah, you deserve some Oscars I have to admit. Do you like playing the innocent so much?" Okita sneered when she closed in, seemingly innocent with her sukonbu in mouth. As if nothing happened.

"What shit are you spewing already, Sadist?"

"Don't you think you have a little something to tell me? Like, I don't know, going out with another guy other than me and getting engaged? Did you think I would never found out? You're wrong."

Kagura slitted her eyes, trying to remember the hardest what happened in the past weeks and mostly, trying to make a link from her personal life to Okita's flare-up.

"Are you talking about Dai-chan?"

"Dai-chan? Wow, you look close to your ex. I didn't know you had such loose legs, hope' you haven't gotten a new boyfriend already." Upon seeing Kagura's blank face, Okita almost spat the chuubert he was consuming— instead of sulking over her infidelity."What, you do?!"

"Gin-chan."

"I should have known, there's no way a lonely and old man would take in a brat like you if he didn't obscene ideas behind. Our Sadist Duo will be over when I'll arrest him."

"Shinpachi."

"After all you did have some idol arc, this can't do well with a hormonal monster like him and I'll end his life with my katana. Up his ass."

"Papi."

"Of course, this egghead— wait, are Yato into incest? I mean there are fans out here shipping you with your brother which is disgusting already, don't tell me your father too? Are you guys really this unmodernised?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Wait there's nothing that makes sense here."

Suddenly Okita had like an epiphany. To his plan of conquering China in more than more ways there had been a stupid error, a miscalculation he should have known from the start: she had no concept of romance or whatsoever. Most of her entourage were males much to his dismay, and her few females friends or sisters were all amazons who he betted they weren't much better.

"A boyfriend can't be your father or your brother."

"It's someone who love me, yes?" Kagura felt her blood dulling. She came to spare as usual but it all took a 360 turn all because Okita had his period today; even if she didn't know what period was. She heard it made people riled up for nothing and surely, Okita was having it. There was no other sensible explication to his burst of anger when he liked to play cool and deadpan most of the time.

"Not that way. You see, a boyfriend's love is very different— you can hug him for example."

"I hug Gin-chan all the time, so he's my boyfriend?"

"Stop immediately." Okita cut dryly, "And let me finish, you can do stuff like kissing and, well you'll know later. He's special to you, but it's not always obvious. He could be like, you know, taunting you but always saving you in the end."

"Then it's Kamui?" She didn't look convinced, still she sat down with some distance in-between and plucked another red packet from nowhere.

"I said it can't be family! Think well— someone that doesn't show openly affection or rarely, but cares for you a lot."

"Ah! I know!"

Okita wished he could just speed up the process to the part where he scolds, then kisses her because he pinpointed her first. He saw her first, and it was only normal to reap the fruits of his claim right?

But the next words froze him instead.

"Toshi! He always looks angry, but I'm sure he's good inside. Kinda feel like Gin-chan but he's not family right?"

"Why would you think of Hijikata-san?" Did the man really have a death wish after all? It was enough he stole Kondo-san and his dear sister from him, but Okita wasn't this kind to share his lover. It was his, and his alone. "You really don't see anyone else? I saved you so much times. Thanks, China, I thought your memory was better than that."

"You?" Her blue eyes bore holes in his own, "Nah that sounds so wrong."

"Wrong?"

"I don't know what boyfriend means, but I don't think you just get angry and fight and curse him. I'm sure you like me, though," she cackled like a kid who was proud of a bad pun. His brain didn't register yet the mocking underneath because it was a rare moment where she was openly happy in his presence. His pride mattered to him a lot, but for a second he felt like he didn't mind his ego if he could replay this scene again, surely she had proven again that he fell for her— hard. He couldn't even deny the fact so obvious it was.

"What if I did like you? No, love you?"

"That sounds utterly disgusting Sadist. You're not mushy-mushy like that."

"Did you that deep in every sadists' hearts, they're very yandere-yandere? Oops, I meant mushy-mushy."

"I still wonder why you're a policeman, you'll be caught one day for killing someone innocent. Ah, maybe you already killed an innocent but hid his corpse well. You should teach me one of these day because Gin-chan still won't pay me."

"If you have enough of living with boss," Okita didn't miss the opportunity," you could live behind my iron bars."

"Gin-chan said that I can't live with any boys other than him until I'm thirty."

Okita wondered for a moment how much of an overprotective dad the silver perm have become, especially knowing that the women of their era could marry at 13. Then again he would be even worse once China give him ton of mini-Chinas to adore and protect.

"Well, since I'm your boyfriend it doesn't count. I even proposed once."

"You want me in jail. When did I say 'yes', anyway?"

"It's strange, I don't remember well. Do you think that being in Hijikata's loser aura is infecting my top-notch brain, China?"

"You're healthy. You can't remember because I never said that." Kagura casted a bored look at him.

Right. The consent and official asking, he had forgotten about such archaic rule. Who cared about that when China read him like a book?

"Easy, then. Say yes now, and I'll go get the papers tomorrow— I might need a signature too."

Kagura swung her thin, but strong arm into his stomach. He felt like he'd throw up all the tabasco-tinted food he ate until now, with the addition of his favourite grape chuubert. She hit stronger than anyone who had hit him before— and that wasn't a given.

He felt soft and warm hand pressing against his forehead.

"You sure you aren't sick?" Kagura tilted her head in doubt. "Boyfriend, girlfriend, does it really matter? It's not important."

"It does," Okita closed his fingers around the hand checking his temperature. "Because you decide to go out and marry a giant without my permission, then act as if nothing happened when I confessed and proposed to you."

"When?"

"You know, at your almost-funeral and when you were on the boat."

"You weren't joking?"

"Half, but it doesn't mean you can go for a giant dickhead instead."

Kagura rose up and pointed him with an accusing finger, "You! You're jealous! I knew you like me!" She started laughing at him, but Okita wasn't amused. Instead he pulled her over him with the help of the grasp he had on her wrist, and instantly their faces were close. Close enough for their breath to mingle, and her laughing to stop.

Enough of joking, he had decided.

"You're my girlfriend from now on—", and shut her mouth with his free hand, "—No discussion. I'll provide you food, drinks and clothes if you want. Stop hugging Boss, or letting Glasses washing your underwear because I know you do and don't see anyone but me. Especially for giants like that, what could you find in him? I'm the prince of the Sadists' planets too, and much more handsome."

"This fucked-up planet really exist?"

"No, but I might just make one when I'll be Kaizer Okita Sougo de Sade the First." Okita shrugged, "What kind of place do you want to go for our first date?"

"I'm not going!"

"I know you do, because… right now your ears are as red as your hair."

Okita Sougo never failed, if China read him like a book then he understood her the most as his long-time rival. It didn't matter if he considered her to be a girlfriend without her oral consent, because he also knew they were the best match possible for each other. He also knew that despite her acting tsundere most of the time she was forever his China, and him her Sadist.

"… I want to go to sea."

"It's a bit cold for this season."

"Yeah, but it's pretty isn't it?"

"Hmm." Okita stood up but didn't release any grasp, instead he gently held one of her hand in its own. It was warm, and it felt even better after having such a stupid talk when everyone knew about them, or at least had a feeling of what was going on. "Do you understand what's a boyfriend now?"

"Not really."

"Well, it's the only person allowed to do that that."

"The—" Kagura didn't have the time nor the will to finish as Okita leaned towards her, his slightly dry lips slanting with her. She expected something less sweet and chaste, because her stupid boyfriend was Sadist, and because he was stupid for dating her when she wasn't thirty yet, but it didn't change the fact she just closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of his lips.

When they separated, Kagura needed to add something. "…Why didn't you come?"

Okita grinned. She was being honest now— he observed her to be sly when it came to tactics. She did try to imitate death just to get Boss and Glasses' attentions and care,"I was busy."

"Even for your girlfriend?"

"I thought you weren't my girlfriend yet," his smile widened even further if that was possible. Kagura pouted. "But next time it happens, well, don't be surprised if we really take a spaceship to Sadists' planet before I kill everything on Earth."

END

[spider-moon-princess]

Time Travel CH 18

Omg, 18! I’m having too much fun writing this! 

Part Seventeen

Masterlist

----++----

Shinpachi, Heisuke and Sanosuke had gone back to the gym to work out some more.

 “Yosh! Let’s work on some crunches now!”

 Sanosuke set his weights down, grabbing a towel from the bench. “Shinpachi! Haven’t we done enough today?” Heisuke flopped on the floor. “I’m with Sano-san! I can’t do this anymore!”

“Pshh, you two have such little stamina. Let’s take five and run on the treadmills then!” He sat down next to Heisuke, grabbing his green water bottle to take a swig of water.

 The little click-click of heels had Sanosuke snapping to attention. There was a reason that Shinpachi was so eager on dragging out his gym time, and this only made it clearer. He pretended not to see her as she approached the trio. He wiped his brow with his towel.

 Finally, the click-click of heels stopped right behind Shinpachi. He stiffened a bit, hesitant to turn around.

 “Shin!” Hands on her hips, a pout on her pink glossed lips, and her were eyebrows furrowed in displeasure.

 Shinpachi immediately stood up to face her. “A-ah, Etsu!” His heart skipped a beat, looking at her. She was wearing a flared red dress that hugged her curves that reached above her knees. “Wh-what brings you here?”

 “You know exactly what, Nagakura Shinpachi!” She crossed her arms. “You went to the club again, didn’t you?”

 “Just for a bit…just for a drink with Sano!” He knew he was better off telling the truth. Yeah, he liked going to the clubs, but it was mostly for the bar and ambiance. He had no interest in other women, only her. “Na, Sano?”

 Sanosuke gave her a sheepish smile. “I was watching this idiot the whole time, once he was drunk off his ass, he was listing things that he loved about you. I had to listen to him during the car ride home.” He chuckled.

 Etsu’s expression softened. She knew Sano-san never lied to her. Though she trusted Shinpachi, she couldn’t help but be doubtful once in a while. He was an attractive man, women and men looked his way when they walked out in public holding hands. She trusted he wouldn’t cheat on her, but she certainly didn’t trust the majority of girls at a club or bar. “Really, Shin?”

 “Maa, I don’t remember much, but I guess I can repeat it for you…” His cheeks were dusted with pink.

 “Ooooh, Shi~in!” She lunged forward, tackling him in a hug. “Tell me over dinner!”

 Shinpachi chuckled, giving her cheek a peck. “Okay, okay, let me get changed and I’ll meet you in my office.”

 Giggling, she nodded happily and tip-toed to kiss his cheek. Even with her three-inch heels, she still couldn’t reach his cheeks.

 “Geez…” Heisuke watched her leave for his office. “You two fight and make up over nothing.”

 “We do not fight, we have small disagreements from time to time. Besides, Etsu’s such a catch.” Shinpachi grinned like a fool in love, which was what he was. “She knows how to cook, she’s kind, beautiful, she’s got curves, she’s a D, and thick thighs for me to rest my head on-”

“Oi, oi, Shinpachi, save it for dinner.” Sanosuke shook his head, clapping him on the back as they went to hit the showers.

 --

Chizuru and Hijikata-sensei had agreed that he would bring Okita-san as soon as the discharge papers went through. She decided to go home after changing to set things up for him.

 Souji was alone in the room. He closed his eyes and tried to take a nap, but little flashes of what he wanted to call memories came to him.

 Chizuru cooking, their first kiss, studying with Chizuru, Hajime-kun, and Heisuke-kun, little bits of things here and there he didn't understand.

 Just what the hell was going on? These thoughts, memories, weren't his, but they were in his head.

 "Oi, Souji." Hijikata-san opened the door.

 Souji chuckled, "The Hijikata-san I know also never knocks." He stood up and stretched until his back popped a bit.

 "Let's get going, the papers went through." He grabbed the file folder and opened a bit to check its contents. A birth certificate, an ID, even a high school diploma...He really did not want to know how Sannan-san got a hold of these documents.

 Souji followed him out to the parking lot, grimacing slightly when he heard a loud roar. "Hijikata-san, what are all these machines?" He looked around them. The machines were similar shapes, but different colors. They all were in neat rows, though some here and there were placed crookedly.

 “Cars. They’re like our modern horses.” Toshizō opened the passenger door of his black sports car. “Come on, Souji, I don’t have all day.” He glanced at his iPhone 4, smiling lightly as he got a reminder from Satomi to come home for dinner. He didn’t forget, but she knew to send him little reminders in case he did lose track of time. He shut the door after Souji and quickly responded that he’d be home after dropping Souji off at Chizuru’s.

 “Modern horses?” Souji mused, looking around the car. He had the urge to press buttons that lit up when Hijikata-san brought the modern horse to life. What had he called it, a car?

 “Souji! Don’t touch anything! It can be dangerous if you press the wrong thing while I’m driving.” He had spotted that devious glint in his eyes. Sighing, he started driving out of the parking lot, the car picking up speed once he was out on the road.

 Souji grasped the seat for support as Hijikata-san started to go faster. He didn’t like this car thing, though it was more convenient than a horse or walking. He had to admit that when Hijikata-san made the turns rather harshly, it made him a biiiiit scared for his life. He chuckled nervously. “Are these cars meant to go this fast?”

 Toshizō smirked, pressing down on the accelerator, passing other cars by. He wasn’t a reckless driver, but he certainly was a speed demon. “Oh sure, this one is built to go rather fast. She’s meant to drive fast.” He could see Souji was scared shitless by his driving, and he was relishing every moment of it. He smoothly parked the car near Chizuru’s apartment. “Well, here we are. Didn’t take long at all.” He probably broke over twenty traffic laws, but it was so worth it, especially when Souji crawled out of the car on all fours.

 Oh, sweet solid ground. Souji took a few moments before he stood up. He’d gotten a little nauseous with the car moving at such high velocity.

He never, ever wanted to get in the same car as Hijikata-san again.

 --

 Toshizō led him to Chizuru’s apartment. “I can’t stay, but you’re going to tell him, right?”

 Chizuru nodded, looking over at Souji; he was busy staring at pictures she had up on the wall. “Yes, Hijikata-sensei.”

 “Good. Here’s his medicine, the file from Sannan-san, and the journals. Good luck, Yukimura.”

 Chizuru bowed and set the box inside, next to the coffee table.

 His jade green eyes stared at a few pictures on the wall. There was one of him, Heisuke-kun and Hajime-kun. They were wearing some type of uniform, Heisuke had his arms around the both of them, grinning, and even Hajime was sporting a slight smile. His future self was smiling so happily, it made him a little jealous.

 There was another picture that caught his eye of his future self, Hijikata-san, and Shinpachi-san. The three of them wore lab coats, making funny poses in front of a crowd of children.

 Chizuru came behind him, staring at the same picture, a smile spread instantly. “That’s one of my favorite. Kondō-san was out sick, but he was supposed to read to the children in the hospital, so he asked Hijikata-sensei, Nagakura-san, and Souji-kun to read it in his place instead.” She laughed at the memory. They had ended up doing a rather unorthodox version of Momotaro, thanks to Souji.* Hijikata-sensei and Nagakura-san chased him around the halls for deviating from the story by bringing in a gorilla instead of a monkey that Nagakura-san had to provide the voice for and the rest of the characters, and making Hijikata-sensei the demon. She’d been in the back, laughing with the rest of the children. They’d loved it so much.

 “Hmm, sounds interesting.” Souji stepped cautiously towards the living room as he looked around. This is where he would be living now. With Chizuru.

 “Ah, Okita-san…” Chizuru went to sit on the couch, taking out a packet from the box that Hijikata-sensei had given her. “…You probably have questions about the Shinsengumi, don’t you?”

Souji took the seat next to her, crossing his arms. “Many.”

 “...This packet of information should clear a few things up.”

 Souji took it from her, quickly scanning the first page. He skipped ahead to find out about Kondō-san.

 He nearly tore the damn paper in half. His jade green eyes furiously looked over at Chizuru. “Ne, Chizuru-chan, this is a lie, isn’t it?” His voice shook slightly. “Kondō-san would never surrender!”

 Chizuru remained silent as Souji reread the end of the paragraph that described Kondō-san’s death.

 “The fucking bastards didn’t even let him commit seppuku?! They beheaded him like some animal?! Where the hell was Hijikata-san?!” Souji threw the packet down, bowing his head. “Tell me that’s a lie, Chizuru-chan…tell me that he at least got to commit seppuku like the warrior he is…”

 They sat there for a few moments, Souji waiting for Chizuru to tell him the truth.

 “...He deserved that honor…He was…He…” His voice broke, unable to say anymore. He hated showing this side to anyone. He was Okita Souji, Captain of the First Division of the Shinsengumi. He didn’t shed tears. 

 Chizuru gently pulled him into her arms, burying her face into his hair, feeling his tears on her arm. There was nothing she could say to him that could ease the pain of losing a loved one in such a horrible manner. If her Souji had the same relationship with Kondō-san that Okita-san had with the Kondō-san in his time, he thought the world of him. She couldn’t do anything to ease the pain in his heart, so she just held him, hoping that her presence could be of even of even the slightest bit of comfort to him.

Part Nineteen

----++-----

*This is actually from one of the Hakuouki SSL drama CDs, I seriously recommend listening to it LMAO, although idk if it has any translations out. 

On another note, I’ll slowllyyyy be adding in the OCs and interactions! I started with mine, since I know her the best LOL, but they’ll get their time to shine, I promise! 

 AND FEELS, I KEPT SEEING SOUJI BREAK DOWN IN CHIZURU’S ARMS AND I JUST- ToT ToT 

[petiteredlady]

End of the year 2.5D Butai/Musical Asks

I found that allyyyyy0619 made an “End of the year 2.5D Butai/Musical Asks” list, and it looked fun and interesting, so I wanted to do it. Some questions were challenging, but I liked answering !

1. Firstly, how did you manage to find out about 2.5D butai/musical? Which butai/musical was your first and your impression of it? In 2003-2004 a friend was studying in Japan. Being a Prince of Tennis fan, she discovered Tenimyu, and showed me her DVDs ! I think the very first I saw was the Dream Live 1st, and then I saw them mostly in chronological order. After that there were Bleach musicals, Hunter x Hunter, and by Air Gear I realised that adapting things into musicals was a thing. (Somehow I only learned about Sailor Moon later O_O)

For my impression of the first Dream Live : what the fuck. Just what the fuck XD I loved it because it was just so funny, but so many actors couldn't sing very well, the plot(?) was insane and several people were just OOC... but it was really fun and I liked it.

2. Who was your first favourite 2.5D actor/actress? Why? Hm... It was probably Takigawa Eiji, because I remember debating whether or not to buy his idol DVD^^" I'm not sure why, because he wasn't a good singer at the time... I guess his charisma alone was enough ? XD He made me laugh as Tezuka (despite actually playing him well), was pretty good-looking and he seemed like such a nice person IRL. (Unfortunately at the time I didn't find anything else he had played in so the "favourite" thing ended at me just really liking him...)

3. Top 3 (or more) favourite butai of the year? I haven't actually seen that many stage plays because I usually prefer musicals XD If I'm not mistaken, I've seen six stage plays this year so.... yeah.

1) Tsumuru Ookami Kuroki Kamo, without a doubt. Probably the best stage play I've ever seen. The staging was amazing, transitions were smooth and clever and easy to follow, I loved the music, I loved the costumes, the characters were amazing (even those I hated)(looking at you Shinpachi), and the story pushed so many of my buttons it's ridiculous. But even objectively, I think it's a really, really good stage play. 2) Yowamushi Pedal Shin Inter-High hen - Heat Up. I had only watched one other YowaPeda stage play so I didn't really know what to expect, but MY GOD. For a stage that had neither my favourite character nor my favourite actors, it was amazing. I loved the staging : everything was very dynamic, the amovible stairs were very cleverly used, and wow you really think they're pedalling. The acting was great and it was really funny, plus there were more songs than I expected ! 3) Haikyuu!! The Summer of Evolution. I wasn't fond of the first stage play and hadn't seen another, so I didn't expect to like it, but wow they have improved SO MUCH. The different choregraphies, for playing and dancing, were insane. I love their use of music to represent different techniques and formations. I really liked the acting. What I liked less was all the yelling, talking at the speed of light and everybody talking at the same time +_+ Like, please people, live Japanese is hard enough as it is XD

4. Top 3 (or more) least favourite butai of the year? By default they're going to be the other three I've seen XD It doesn't mean I didn't like them, but I liked them less and it wouldn't be fair to not answer this question.

1) Mononofu Shiroki Tora. I still liked it because it dealed with a lot of subjects that are dear to me, but honestly it was so confusing +_+ I really had a hard time understanding what was the present and what was the past, and which side the background characters were on. There were several characters I didn't connect with at all, too. It was still funny and horribly sad, but after watching it I just wasn't convinced. (Which is why I waited months before watching Tsumuru Ookami Kuroki Kamo.) 2) Messiah - Yuukyuu no Toki. The best stage play that came out of the new Messiah series. I wrote my impressions after watching it, but to summarise : there are still too many characters, too many plots at the same time, and I'm tired of people being related for no reason. I also thought the whole issue with Ariga and Itsuki was very dumb. But at least Yuukyuu focused more on its characters than Akatsuki, so I ended up liking them more. And returning characters were less OOC in my opinion. And my goodness, action scenes were great. 3) Messiah - Akatsuki no Toki. I was so excited for it and was terribly betrayed. There were a thousand ways to deal with Hirose Daisuke's absence, and they went with an insane plot so far-fatched I can't bring myself to take it seriously. I found the characters very, very OOC and didn't connect with or care for any of them. The new kouhai were not at all what I expected and I found them cringy at best. There are very few things I liked. Mostly the relationship between Ariga and Itsuki <3 I sort of squeed when Ariga called Itsuki by his name, and then at the end Itsuki did the same and it was cute and adorable.

(Messiah has been a letdown this year, it's pretty sad...)

5. Top 3 (or more) favourite musical of the year? I've watched a lot more musicals so this is going to be really hard XD (But I'm not doing more than 3. Ranking things is hard enough like that.)

1) Ribbon no Kishi (2015 version). It blew my mind when I didn't expect it O_O I was watching it for Aoki Tsunenori, but everyone was just so, so good. THE SONGS. MY GOD. ALL OF THE SONGS ARE GREAT, ALL OF THEM, AND EVERYONE SINGS SO WELL !!! The women especially had amazing voices. Everyone played they roles so well, with some being so very over-the-top and kitsch. I loved it. And this is part of being Ribbon no Kishi, but I loved the costumes and the fairy tale atmosphere that was very positive. I have issues with the story, but honestly that's not why I was watching it, so all in all it was a great experience. 2) Sailor Moon - Le Mouvement Final. JUST. AMAZING. Everyone was so pretty and cool and talented, the costumes were full of glitter, and the singing and acting really touched me <3 I may not be 100 % objective because I've loved Sailor Moon since I was a little girl and the last arc always makes me very emotional, but still. The transformations were great, the light effects were really cool, the music was good and all the actresse were amazing. If it hadn't been the last day of the performance I'd have tried to get another ticket... 3) Patalliro!. They don't call it a musical since they're lip-syncing on stage, but as a viewer the experience is basically the same so I've decided it counts. I had read a bit of the manga and watched a bit of the anime to have some context, and it really helped me understand some scenes. What I found most amazing is that the musical looks good while keeping all the weirdness from the manga XD They all acted so well, and managed to create a great story with very few characters. I liked that everything, from characters expressions to every plot point, was very over-the-top and dramatic XD I laughed a LOT. And the songs were really good and catchy. I liked it way more than I expected !

6. Top 3 (or more) least favourite musical of the year? Once again : it doesn't mean I didn't like them. Either they didn't live up to my expectations, or I simply liked them less.

1) Bakumatsu Rock - Climax Live. While I liked the interactions between the characters and liked more songs than I expected, I still feel this live didn't use all its potential. I mean, sure, it's a live, but maybe there could have been more of a plot ? Transitions were good and sketches were funny, but an overarching plot tying it all together would have been nicer, in my opinion. 2) Show by Rock - Shinen no Cross Ambivalence. This is very, very, very personal, but I think ShinganCrimsonZ didn't act enough like themselves. I know they weren't the focus of the plot, but... Rom had only like one speech that made the others cry, they didn't bicker about food, they didn't sing their jingle and Crow almost never called us "cattle" T-T Actually the focus was all over the place so I feel like no band really had time to shine. (And that's ever more personal, but the one and only reason I wanted to see Show by Rock was to see TakiEiji.......)(Obviously I'm not blaming anyone O__O) Overall I liked it, but not as much as I wanted to. 3) Touken Ranbu - Bakumatsu Tenrouden. The expectations/reality ratio was way too high for this one XD I still liked it, but not as much as a Shinsengumi fan should have, I guess XD First, I don't like Yasusada that much. And I'm getting really tired of his and Kashuu's issues with Okita. WE GET IT. We even had them all over Hanamaru. They're pretty popular anyway so WE KNOW ALREADY. I was more interested in Nagasone and Hachisuka's issues, but I think they were only superficially addressed. And Nagasone angsting about Kondou was only at the end with little build-up so it just felt weird, while it had the potential to be a heart-wrenching scene. And honestly, Kane-san and Horikawa felt like secondary characters T-T I'd have been much more interested in THEIR dealing with their owner's death. I also think they didn't have great singers and their voices didn't really work together, even though I liked the songs. So this musical was more of a miss than a hit, for me. (But I liked the previous one so much it was hard to top.)

7. Top 3 (or more) favourite actors/actress of the year?

1) Rachi Shinji. I've developped a real appreciation for him after being initially put off. When I first saw the Bakumatsu Rock musical his voice was so different from anime Ryouma that I thought he couldn't sing... haha =_= It got better the more musicals I saw in this series, then I saw him in Sayonara Sorcier *o* He was so, so perfect for the role *o* Now I really want to see more of him ! 2) Kanda Airi. I was very impressed by her performance in Ribbon no Kishi, and then I saw her in Sailor Moon *o* She was more than amazing. She appeared late, but she was so at ease on stage ! She was very in character, very into her dancing and singing, and she felt much more experienced than the adult actresses. Honestly, it seemed so very natural for her to act, it was hard to look at anyone else ! (And I don't even like Chibi Moon that much so it's really impressive.) 3) Teruma. I think he's one of these few actors who can really change who they are when they play different characters. I just find that very impressive, and since I've been seeing more and more of him, I ended up noticing. He has really improved his singing, too ! (And he does play very different characters while you could expect him to have a type XD)

8. Top 3 (or more) rookie actors/rising actors whom you’ve high hopes for in the future? ... I usually follow actors I know so that means they already have a career XD But let's try !

1) Takano Akira, Toumyu's Hizamaru. He's not exactly a newbie as he's done a number of things, but mostly in 2016 so I guess it counts. I've only seen him in Shinken Ranbu Sai 2017 (I'll see the actual musical in January), but I was SO IMPRESSED. Honestly, despite the huge cast and lots of other actors and characters I loved, he managed to stand out ! His acting was great, his dancing JUST AMAZING, and he was so into his role, it was a pleasure to watch. 2) Ooyabu Taka. I only saw him as Marui in the 3rd season Tenimyu Seigaku vs Rikkai, but my goodness he was perfect. Probably the best Marui so far, definitely one of the best and most charismatic actors of the musical ! It's not even a character I care about much so I'm not biased, and I did hear other people talk excitedly about how good he was. I don't think I'll be closely following his career, but I'm definitely interested in seeing more of him ! 3) Sakiyama Tsubasa. He has been in a number of plays for the past 3-4 years, but I think it's only recently (thanks to Toumyu) that his popularity skyrocketed. The more I watch him the more I like him, and he's one of the very few people who made me buy their CD, so that says something ! I definitely want to see more of him in the future !

9. Top 3 (or more) favourite butai/musical related drama/movie of the year? The original question said it could be a drama that has a butai adaptation or an unrelated drama with butai actors in it (who made us want to watch it). The thing is... I don't watch that many dramas ? Not anymore, at least. When I like a butai actor I like to see what other butai they're in XD There's always tokusatsu, but it's not ONLY for the actors. Oh well, let's try...

1) Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. Amazing show. Predictable, but everything made me feel good, from the characters to the plot. It was on my list because of Matsumoto Hiroya and Baba Ryouma <3 (Then I realised Jinnai Shou was in it too !)(Now that I think about it they happen to play my favourite characters...) 2) Yowamushi Pedal. It was one example listed in the original question so it feels weird to answer that, but it's true. From the preview I didn't think it'd be anything worthy of note, but it's actually so, so well done. Even the bike races. And the cast is just so good, I love how they play the characters. 3) Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger. A bit cliché, but I loved it. The main characters were great, the villains too, and I love dinosaurs. And I decided to watch it because of Saitou Shuusuke !

(Yeah that's two sentai but honestly I've already gone through all the Kamen Riders that have butai actors in it...)

10. Top 3 (or more) actors/actress that you think have the best singing voice? Now that's very unfair and I can't do it XD Why I like someone’s singing depends on so many things, and I may not like everything that person sings... But I decided to answer these questions so I WILL >< (This will be more like "hey I consistently like these people singing" rather than "they're objectively the best singers")

1) Katou Kazuki. He was amazing in Tenimyu, I actually listened to his original songs when he released a CD, and when I heard him recently I thought he had improved AGAIN O_O I don't think there's any limit to how good he can get. (And I love deep voices like his.) 2) Kimeru. Such a powerful voice. I think he can sing anything and make it awesome. He's sometimes a bit over the top, but I love listening to him. 3) Sakiyama Tsubasa. When I first heard him in Toumyu I wasn't convinced, but he's improved so fast ! I love his calm and soothing voice <3

(4th place is for Rachi Shinji because my god just like Kimeru he has such a powerful and beautiful voice *o* Just... less my style.) (And I'd like to mention Spi somewhere because while I haven't yet seen Mihotose no Komoriuta, I was SO IMPRESSED by his singing in Shinken Ranbu Sai 2017 he deserves a spot. His singing was amazing.)

11. A (or more) butai/musical that you didn’t initially love, but has/have grown on you?

Bakumatsu Rock (the first one). It was such a shock to transition from anime to stage, I didn't take it well. The seiyuu are pretty amazing, and the musical tried to have actors with very different voices try to sing like the seiyuu... and it doesn't work at all. After re-watching the musical, though, I got a better appreciation for the actors’ singing. It's not that they're bad, they're just made to sing things that were not made for them^^ And some songs are still pretty good despite that ! And in later musicals I think they better adapted the music.

12. Top 3 (or more) anime/manga/game that you would love to see being adapted into a butai/musical in the future?

1) Anything by CLAMP ? I mean, why is there no Card Captor Sakura musical ? It would be perfect. Or Wish !! Wish would be so cute. Or Clover *o* (Honestly any manga works. Even the 'heavier' ones like X or RG Veda. These two would have amazing group songs *o*) 2) I'm not sure I'd "love" it but honestly after three Tenimyu seasons it's time to be brave and adapt New Prince of Tennis. 3) I haven't seen it yet but when I read the question I immediately thought "Ballroom e youkoso needs an adaptation" XD

13. Top 3 (or more) favourite fandom on the year?

1) Tenimyu is still a pure and amazing fandom. Honestly seeing people still passionate about it nearly fifteen years later amazes me. 2) Touken Ranbu fans are very impressive, collecting so much information and following every single actor's other projects XD 3) The Hakumyu fandom sprang back into existence, it seems XD With motivated people sharing and subbing. I'm glad to see the fandom is still alive and happy despite the lack of new musicals.

14. How long have you been in the 2.5D fandom? Honestly I wouldn't consider myself "in the fandom" these days... I interacted with other fans much more when I was younger, and then there was a period when my interest in butai faded. But if we count from the first time I got involved... it's been about 13 years.

15. Lastly, what is your overall opinion of the 2.5D fandom so far? As I said, I'm not really "in" it so it's more like an outside opinion...? Honestly, I feel that now that buying and sharing DVDs is so easy, the fandom has grown so big it has become difficult to really interact with people ? Maybe I just don't put enough effort in it, though XD But having so many fans with different interests mean it's more difficult to find someone who matches your interests who is also interested in talking to you specifically while there are so many other fans out there. (But yeah, maybe it's just me. I used to be in small French fandoms, maybe I'm just not cut out for big international ones.)

And yet it amazes me how much people help each other : getting tickets, getting goodies, subbing... (Like, SUBBING ?? When I was younger I never thought about anyone ever subbing butai, fansubs were something anime fans did, I never considered it could apply to butai too XD So I'm always in awe when people sub butai.)

[sambart93]

2017.04.26-29 HakuMyu Harada-Hen Review!

I cannot cope with this stage seriously! I was so lucky I got to go to the dress rehearsal AND I also managed to see it 4 times total!!

Before I say anything; when I see a play multiple times, I always enjoy it the first time and then the remaining times I will sit their counting how many points I want to make. And I know in at least one showing I had about 37 things to say about part one and 42 things to say about part two. Obviously I couldn’t and can’t remember them all BUT I hope that gives an insight into how much stuff I want to comment on in this stage! Also because I have so many effing points, I have already decided I AM going to do a Scene-By-Scene review and commentary when the DVD BR comes out! I seriously have SO much to say about each scene and moment but I won’t remember them all for this review. Sound good? Okay!

Official Website here Official Twitter here DVD and BR PreOrders here and here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Cast and Characters

Higashi (TonChan) Keisuke as Harada Sannosuke Isobe Karin as Yukimura Chizuru Matsuda Gaku as Hijikata Touji Aramaki (MakiChan) Yoshihiko as Okita Souji Naya (TakeChan/Patch-Kun) Takeru as Saitou Hajime Kizu Tsubasa as Toudou Heisuke Fukuyama Shoudai as Nagakura Shinpachi Teruma as Sannan Keisuke Takasaki (TakaChan) Shouta as Yamazaki Susumu Imata Taira as Kondou Isami Sasaki (Hide/HideSama) Hideyoshi as Kazama Chikage Soutarou as Amagiri Kyuujyu Kashiwagi Yuusuke as Shuranui Kyou Kawamoto Hiroyuki as Yukimura Koudou Ensemble: Sugawara Takeshi, Sato Yoshio, Hisada Yuki, Sakamoto Kazuki, Yoshida Yuuki and Maehara Masaki

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Overall: Best musical and stage of the year so far!!! Holy crap it is amazing! I clapped so hard every night and I haven’t clapped hard in a LONG time (maybe since TouMyu 2?)! I even wanted to give them a standing ovation every freaking night! That’s how amazing it is! Everyone did phenomenal and all the scenes were amazing and the love the new cast, every single one of them and the songs! Holy moly the songs are amazing! Also we finally have a kickass, badass Chizuru! Best Chizuru we’ve had too! I’ve only ever seen the rest of the HakuMyus twice but I’ve already seen this four times! And I’m glad this was the one I saw four times! It’s definitely my favourite HakuMyu xD It’s been weeks and I’m still on a high from it. Rating: 9 - 9.5/10

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SPOILER REVIEW!

Okay is everyone ready for this monster? By the way, if you have alcohol on hand then take a drink every time I say Amazing or Gold xD you’re going to be a sanbaka by the end if you do though xD let’s go!

This is going to be split up in a really weird way. I’ve split it into Part One and Part Two (but it won’t be going in chronological order; my memory isn’t THAT good), then some notes and comments split by the different performances I went to and finally we have cast/acting break down comments too.. I imagine they’re been a Misc and a Goods section too xD I hope it’s not too confusing! >.< enjoy!

PART ONE

I am very glad I saw this in person because every time the opening main theme starts the sound crew SERIOUSLY cranked up that music, it shakes the room and it’s so powerful and amazing which is something you can’t really feel when you watch it at home! Gave me chills every time <3

This feels a lot darker too compared to the past HakuMyus which I think is why I enjoyed it so much. I remember the anime ripping my heart out and just being this amazing but depressing and dark story and I feel they really captured the real Hakuouki this time around <3

I really like the scene where Chizuru and Harada are out in town together and he captures someone and throws him back into the store/pub and we just hear this ‘すみません・ Sorry!’ xD everyone laughed every time. Another thing during this scene is there’s always a drunk guy at the back of the stage, and three out of the four performances he pretends to trip over nothing but on my third watch he pretends his hand gets stuck to the floor xD it amused me so much every time. It’s such a little thing but I love it xD All the ensemble were amazing! I saw some recogisable and regular faces too in them! <3

All the comedy hit well in this stage ^_^ we have the one scene mentioned above and then we also have the drinking scene comedy with Shinpachi, Harada and even Yamazaki, and in part two we have that wonderful Shinpachi.

Teruma's freaking solo. I really do love his solo. It’s so manic and amazing and the lighting and the smoke and Chizuru being scared to death and everything - it’s so good! Jesus, his scream seriously is amazing and gave me chills every time too! Also I think his performance of this song just got more wild every night which is awesome! In fact everyone’s screams were amazing! You could feel and hear their pain in the screams. Heisuke’s scream when he transformed is also really good! More on screaming in part two >.<

This Chizuru is kickass this one. It’s the first time I’ve actually liked Chizuru and I’m so glad I do because I really do like Karin! This Chizuru feels a lot more fearless and stronger and always staying with the guys and even goes to turn herself in to protect Shinsengumi. Maybe she has done this in all the others but this was personally my first time to really see Chizuru as this strong female. I have so many good scenes of her being a badass. One is when she tells the Oni she’ll go with them so long as they don’t hurt Shinsengumi. Another badass scene is when she even attacks and tries to kill her own father! She actually uses and takes out her sword on a number of occasions this time around which made me love her! THIS is the Chizuru I want and I got it! 

And speaking of Karin as Chizuru, I love the slight song speed and tempo differences they made to fit Karin’s voice <3 By the way if you didn’t notice already this Chizuru and Karin are my all time favourite Chizuru’s! xD Both character and actress <3 I’ve liked Karin since K Stage so makes sense xD

Related to above; I LOVE when Harada says to Chizuru ‘それはかっこよかった・That was cool of you/You were cool then.’ after she tries to protect and save everyone <3 in general Harada has some great lines but that one definitely stood out to me every performance.

Unfortunately, there is NO Kinniku Love -__- which is one of the tiny reasons why I haven’t rated it a 10 out of 10. This is like my favourite part in all the stages! So I was a little miffed! But we got a wonderful Drinking song and we got Harada and Shinpachi shirtless which was great! Also in the shirtless scene Shinpachi draws on Harada which is good fun >.< although why Shinpachi undressed also I have no idea why xD I ain’t complaining though!

Speaking of the Drinking song, YAMAZAKI in this song!!! TakaChan’s Yamazaki is good as always, however, especially when drunk xD it really cracked me up every time and I looked forward to it every time! He falls on the floor, he slumps onto the stairs, he has to rest a hand on the wall so he doesn’t throw up, it’s really so good xD I loved this performance every time!! It gave me such a giggle.

I love Okita’s coughing in this one. I know it’s not technically a good thing for Okita (xD) but MakiChan acting out the coughing and the different stages of it so well this stage! I am proud of my boy <3 I also love during one of the scene where everyone in Shinsengumi’s gathered and Okita is just sexily sat on the stairs with the sword between his legs <3 so sexy *dead*

OOOOO! I LOVE the song when it’s just Kondo, Okita and Hijikata! And they sing ‘その名前に誓う！・We’ll take that name’ and I sang along to it every time after the first time I saw the stage! I freaking love the song and I love that line!! <3

Shiranui FTW!  don’t need to say more do I? Haha BUT seriously, he was so good in this and we got so much of him this time around! I was a happy bunny AND he got his own bromides whichi is just mind blowing! Furthermore, Shiranui’s costume is amazing! It’s so detailed! You can’t see the flower prints or the dark green on the DVDs and stuff so well but seeing it in person, it’s absolutely gorgeous! All of Shiranui’s interactions and scenes were great! I really love the slow mo fighting part during one of the Harada x Shiraniu fight scenes! Shiranui’s face every time is amazing in slowmo >.< Another scene I love is when he opens up towards the end and is like ‘there’s no such things as souls’ and Chizuru is like ‘I think you want to believe but you can’t because you’ve seen so many of your (human) friends die’ or something like that and it’s ... my feels!

The San Baka song is SO good! Especially when Shinpachi goes round punching everyone xD also it made my heart warm that Shinpachi enters the stage with a jump! During the HakuMyu Live 2 DVD event Fukuyama spoke of how he tried to copy Shuuto’s jump but Shuuto just has to much bounce and natural height to him when jumping that he couldn’t copy it, so seeing him really going for it in the stage made me very happy. I bet Shuuto giggled when he saw it just like me xD

I really, really, really, really love the new Shinsegumi group song and it’s dance <3 this song always made me cry at the end of part one quite a few times <3 it’s such a good song! I love ALL the new songs! They better bring out a CD this time around! For the love of god give me the CD of this!

Another song I loved was Kazama’s! It’s all rocky and it’s so good! I really like his new rock song ^_^ suits Hide very well. BUT, my entire thought process of Hide as Kazama was:

Round One:  This Kazama is very much like the anime. Voice and all. Round Two: Yeah he’s exactly like anime Kazama, no wonder I don’t like him (the stage character not Hide!) Round Three: I fucking HATE Kazama! He’s so fucking annoying! I am SO done with this Kazama Round Four: I am beyond done and don’t care about you anymore.

So safe to say Hide did a perfect job of bringing the real, canon Kazama to life, but unfortunately that’s the type of Kazama I cannot stand xD

And the touching! Like when Yamazaki is grabbing Chizuru from the back and on her wrist to try and keep her out of the fight <3 in fact ALL the touches/grabs the guys had with Chizuru when trying to protect her! We had Yama x Chizuru and Shinpachi x Chizuru, also I think Saito x Chizuru and Heisuke x Chizuru touching too!  It gave me so many feels <3 I loved it! I was so on bored with ALL the ships in this one >.< especially the Yama x Okita ship cos of MakiChan and TakaChan because after about the second or third watch, I’ve noticed that Okita and Yamazaki are together A LOT (meaning they keep pairing my TokiEnta boys together <3) and they have so many moments together that it was so fascinating just how many times! But course I thoroughly enjoyed that ^_^

One little comment is about in two different performance, Tonchan nearly lost his sheath during one of his fight scenes due to him spinning and moving fast xD he just grabbed it an threw it backstage when it happened.

PART TWO

The opening dream sequence is GOLD. I love it so much! Everytime this song comes on my music player I can see TonChan and his dance here so perfectly!  Also I FUCKING love when Shinpachi and co. come on stage! The first time I saw it I was like ‘wtf?! Shinapachi isn’t supposed to drink the Ochimizu!!!’ and his evil face during that scene when he attacks Harada is so freaking amazing! His evil smile is so evil but also somewhat sexy xD but I guess that’s cos of my Shinpachi Hell xD

Back to the screaming! In this second half with Yamazaki’s scream! So amazing! <3 Also Hijikata’s scream! Just everyone screaming is amazing okay! I guess that’s the messed up sadistic side of me? Or just damn fine acting!

Speaking of Yamazaki! Yamazaki’s scene... ugh do we need to talk about this.. yes we do because I love Yamazaki! It broke my heart as usual! I cried like a bitch every time and sometimes I even started crying way before the scene even started! But he like climbs/crawls up the stairs... my heart is breaking right now! BUT I saw one person’s review saying ‘why can’t they just kill Yamazaki off stage, why does he need a scene’ or something like that and let me tell you: I LOVE Yamazaki, I LOVE TakaChan, I NEED this scene! My beautiful TakaChan needs ALL the stage time he can get, okay! But him not dying would be more preferable>o< << as I wrote in the questionnaires every performance xD I get why and how it would work to have him die off stage but I need these scenes no matter how heartbreaking they are.

The Saito x Souji fight is GOLD and amazing! Their singing and song during it too is great! Apparently this song and scene has already been done before but clearly this version was a lot better and obviously stood out to me. Everything about this scene, the song, their voices, the choreography, the lighting, it’s all really good here!

I love when Shinpachi decides to leave Shinsengumi and comes back on stage like ‘Hiji don’t stop me! I’m going whether you like (Hiji: I know, I’m letting you go) it or not--- what?!’ and then he turns to Harada ‘I made up my mind!’ ‘I know.. we’re leaving too...’ ‘...what?! ... what?! Explain it to me so I can understand! What do you mean! Cos we’re friends right?!’ xD I died every time. Such a good moment <3

And then we have the Shinpachi x Harada fight that’s also GOLD! Just give me Shinpachi and Harada scenes all day okay! But also my love for the new Shinachi helps me love this scene too.

Oh jesus, oh my! The Okita crying after he finds out about Kondou’s execution and his scream crying scene broke me every time. Although I feel like MakiChan’s performance during my third time wasn’t as good as the other times, but lets assume it was just the mid-performance slump between the first and last performance day hype and adrenaline. But seriously this scene is so well acted from both MakiChan and Gaku! It’s such a raw and heartbreaking scene and yet it has so much love in it too! Like when Hijikata put his hand on Okita while Okita was lent on him and grabbing on him for dear life as he cried. My brain was just like ‘HIJI X OKITA!!!”. It’s just a small thing but omg Okita needs something like that to reassure him in that moment <3 So many minute things happen in this scene that make it all so perfect but ripping your heart out at the same time. 

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I finally finished my two parter comments. Now to some Performance differences or accidents or curtain calls and such. The tenses might be a little weird here but bare with me:

2017.04.26 14:00 Preview/Dress Rehearsal

Straight after it finished:

I remember why I hate Hakuouki so much....my emotions right now. I am fecking ruined! The second half just killed me.

2017.04.27 19:00 

I was at the very very back this night next to one kankeisha and the lighting and sound crew xD it was awesome! Also I’d say the back overall is a great view even though it’s a little far.

SHIRAMATA IS HERE!!!

I cried at the opening this night.

Everything went wrong this night and it was hilarious because it was nothing major:

First Hijikata’s sword broke! It was perfectly timing too when Kazama and him smacked swords but his sword part fell leaving him with just the handle in his hand and Gaku very smoothing just threw the handle away and finished the fight with (literally) blade in hand xD when it broke, me and several others (in our heads) thought ‘NO! Kane-san!!!’ xD and then because Gaku hadn’t thrown it far enough, during the next scene which was Saito’s you could just see this hand on the floor trying to grab the handle quickly but we ALL saw it xD 

Another one was Kondou and Sannan slightly fell UP the stairs towards the audience xD 

And the last mishap was towards the end of the drinking song where Yamazaki and Shinpachi pass each other BUT TakaChan was  a bit too close and flips the sake plate out of Fukuyama’s hand and he tried to catch it about 4 times before just letting it dropped and (smoothly in character) pointed at Yamazaki to pick it up so did and clean it on his shirt xD it was very in character and a good moment BUT it definitely wasn’t part of the scene xD was definitely an accident.

The curtain call was so emotional - already(!) which is not good. The speaker for the curtain call today was Teruma. Teruma spoke about how he was happy to be back and commented about Tonchan being the zachou and doing a great job to which Tonchan hugged Teruma after his speech <3 Teruma also said that he’d been watching Karin through the performances and rehearsals and said she was great but then he quickly added ‘I’m not a hentai! I promise! I don’t mean it that way!’  And thus got Karin crying and then poor Tsubasa was a wreck (every night he cried actually) and I saw MakiChan wiping tears away from his face too. It just got out of control this night with the tears xD it was only their second Tokyo performance! xD 

Also, I think it was this one where at the end of the second curtain call MakiChan and Imata hugged at the side of the stage before MakiChan skipped off xD

Apparently this performance is the one when I realised (and I quote) ‘I am so in love with this Shinpachi! He might have even over taken Shuuto!!’

Double curtain call.

2017.04.28 19:00

You know when I said being at the back had the best view? I was right! This night I was row 18 but me and the girl next to me were a LOT shorter compared to the two in front of us so even though we had center seats we had to constantly more left and right the entire show and I can still see this giant head blocking my view in my memory. It was so distracting! I know it’s not their fault they’re tall but jesus.... at least slump down! I always do just incase I get a tiny person behind me.

I think TakaChan missed his mark during the group song and came in a little too late xD

Also I think poor Tsubasa forgot his line during the first San baka scene. Sounded like he tripped over his words for a millisecond.

TonChan dropped his yari in a fight scene!!!! But luckily he smoothly grabbed it and the fight sounds continued to perfectly match him, well done sound crew.

I was able to sing along to some of the songs this night which made me happy xD

I cried at the end of part one this night xD

Curtain call was a triple curtain call and tonight’s speaker was Yamazaki/TakaChan. He spoke about it being 5 years since the first stage and he was like ‘we’ll d Yamazaki-hen okay! *everyone cheers* I’ll also go and see it’ WTF Takachan?! xD but that does means he read my damn letter about me wanting him to do Yamazaki-hen xD Also freaking MakiChanbbeing the comfortable troll he is, everytime TakaChan said something wrong in his speech he was immediately replying to him and giving him crap xD I love these boys so much. but I can imagine none TokiEnta fans wouldn’t have realised they were good friends and in the same company and stuff. But it made me happy seeing just how comfortable MakiChan was with being himself in front of everyone and just being himself with TakaChan on stage xD 

Makichan did so well with Tsubasa. Every night he’d put his arm around him or he’d hug him or give him a pat on the back. He was so supportive while Tsubasa just stood there crying his heart out every night <3

Also I freaking realised from the back of his head but I KNEW ShoSan had turned up! He had!! I was right mwahaha I promise I’m not creeping...

Every night during the ending song MakiChan would go to TakaChan and would do something stupid like poke him and stuff but this night TakaChan tried so hard to just ignore him xD it was so funny.

Also I have a note and a tweet that says ‘Guys... I’ve been kidnapped by this little shizzer...’and this is very Shinpachi hell really begins... I’ve posted enough pics of him throughout this post to prove it xD

Also this was definitely the performance where ‘I’m so effing done with this Kazama’s BULLSHIT’ xD

2017.04.29 19:00

The entire fucking old cast showed up! Shuuto, Ryo, Ono, Yazak and Edogawa. As soon as they walked in until the show actually started and between the breaks and after it finished literally the ENTIRE crowd was staring and talking about them. Serious kudos to the boys for completely not phasing at it at all, and just continuing their conversations between themselves and enjoying themselves in their conversations. Especially this one girl, who clearly obviously waited until the very last second to walk back in during the break so she could go up the stares nod a look at them and go to her seat. You THINK about doing these things, not actually do them! But having said that, on the first day me and my friend accidentally turned up 2 hours early instead of one hour and saw the cast go into the theatre. And we saw them running up and down the stairs at the back. Thank the lord for my very very sharp glasses xD yeah... we’re the creepy ones really aren’t we xD

Anyway back to this night: 

I cried a crap ton.

Luckily the girl next to me was a Shinpachi fan so we could talk about him a lot before and after the play and during the break xD

During the final ending song this night MakiChan got a piggyback from the ensemble cast xD

Poor baby Tsubasa cried his little heart out again just like every night xD

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And done! Now onto acting!! The rest of this should be short ^_^ thank god.

ACTING

TonChan: He is the perfect Harada! He’s tall, slim and yet still bares muscle and he dances pretty smoothly too and he’s so sexy as Harada. He did amazing in this and I definitely brought Harada-Hen to justice, but I’ve never played the game so don’t take my word xD

Karin: I already expressed my love for Karin and her Chizuru <3

Gakkun: I feel in this one Gaku finally had a complete grasp on his Hijikata and I feel he’s finally made Hijikata his own <3

MakiChan: MakiChan’s acting has improved once again as evidently seen in the way he builds up the coughs and such, and his scene with Hijikata is truelly an amazing and powerful performance. Him and Naya have great chemistry for the Okita x Saito conflict too. I feel MakiChan’s Okita is a lot more playful with that streak of evil in it which I’m really loving. He still shows this vulnerable childish and selfish Okita perfectly at times too. He has this great balance of the two sides of Okita going on <3

TakeChan: I LOVE TakeChan as Saito! As soon as he came on stage I was like ‘This IS Saito!’ he does it so perfectly and flawlessly. I was one of the rare ones who never really liked Shohei as Saito; something just didn’t sit well with me with his Saito. But Naya? He’s perfect! He took this role completely I feel like everyone saw Saito straight away rather than TakeChan or even his Saayo. I wish he had more stage time but I understand to ease him into HakuMyu and it’s audience you have to do it slowly at a time. I hope in the next stage he gets a LOT more time on stage, I really wanna see what he does with Saito <3 I dare say I think I prefer him over Ryo!!

Tsubasa: Oh my this angel! He IS ADORABLE as Heisuke! i freaking adore his Heisuke! He’s so cute! And he’s such a cute baby for crying every night <3 He was even adorable during the HakuMyu Live 2 DVD event I went to. As actors him and Naya are defo tied for most adorable and cute! I wanna see his Heisuke so much more! He has a good dynamic with Shoudai at least and I wanna see more San Bakaness with the three actors we currently have. I’m glad he was fully recovered this time too (he was injured throughout Live 2) so we could see him do some great action scenes!

Fukuyama Shoudai: This son of a bitch. This son of a bitch! Oh my I am in LOVE with his Shinpachi! He’s perfect! Absolutely perfect! I am SO into his Shinpachi! If they ever do Shinpachi-hen THIS GUY PLEASE! Oh my god I can’t <3 again, I think he’s beaten Shuuto for me personally as Shinpachi! Just everything about him! Every scene he was in he was so asmuing and I loved his and TonChan’s scenes and we finally see him be Shinpachi after not really seeing him in Live 2 and seeing at the HakuMyu Live 2 DVD event and hearing a lot of his thoughts and how difficult Live 2 was because he and Tsubasa were just told to copy the others and now finally get a chance to show off his Shinpachi and hearing how hard he worked to get Shinpachi right (watching Shuuto’s performances on DVD and such) - I am a happy bunny! Oh guys I cant’t with his Shinpachi.... I’ve never fallen so HARD for a character in my life.

Teruma: Lets admit it. Teruma is DAMN good at everything he does! Especially when it comes to song performances. And I’m glad he came back at Sannan. He freaking did an amazing job! That solo guys, that solo!

TakaChan: I am so glad he got to play a drunk Yamazaki and we got to see him more involved with the others this time. And like I said; ALL the Okita and Yamazaki interactions <3 But please can we stop killing YamaChan?! xD JUST ONCE! And when it’s NOT his Hen! xD

Imata Taira as Kondou Isami: Perfect as always! I think everyone in the audience loves him as Kondou and he proves that even though he’s older he’s just as loved and as popular in the HakuMyu fandom and he can do everything the other guys do just as well. He never disappoints me and he’s such a great guy <3

Hide: Like I said: The perfect (anime) Kazama which unfortunately is the type of Kazama I despise.

Soutarou as Amagiri Kyuujyu: We didn’t get to see much of him but then again we never do. I’m holding out verdict for him still. Hopefully he’s in the next one and I can make a solid opinion. But he did fine in this.

Kashiwagi: SHIRANUI!!!! My perfect bundle of perfectness <3 he’s flawless as Shiranui. He’s amazing as Shiranui. He did a perfect job and I am so happy with how much time he got on stage and he was dying to do HaradaHen too and I’m happy for him that he’s happy he could finally do it! I really love how Shiranui opens up towards the end with the whole soul thing. Kashi please don’t leave us after this one....

Kawamoto Hiroyuki as Yukimura Koudou: He was fine but I personally felt he was AWFULLY young to be playing her father, but I guess I’m still used to Edogawa and his older man looks xD He had a little song and he sounded great, and his performance was fine. Holding the verdict out on him still too.

Ensemble: They did an amazing job and had so much action to deal with and so much choreography (like everyone else) and so many roles to do! A special mention to  Sugawara Takeshi who’s a reoccurring ensemble member for HakuMyu (and some other stages me thinks) and he got most of the ensemble lines and main extra roles whenever there was one. 

---

And finally onto the last section:

GOODS

I ended up getting all of Shinpachi’s stuff too but I can’t find my pic of them anywhere. Anyway here’s what my bag looked like most of the time too!

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Well that was LONG. How drunk is everyone now? xD If you managed to get through and read ALL that then goddammit you’re good. Hope you enjoyed it!

[inthenameofotome-blog]

Love of the Fury Part One: Destined Meeting

It had been a rainy night, a young woman had been traveling from across the sea, the full moon was a tint of red. She looked up at the sky an let out a sigh, in her mind a red full moon was a bad omen. She was still getting used to Japan, she loved it but sometimes Ronin gave her trouble for being a woman. Her long black hair blew in the wind, the wind then brought her the scent of human Ronin. “Great, just what I need,” she muttered to herself as she noticed men surrounding her. Alarmed, she placed her hand on the double sheathes on her back which held her kunai, she had other weapons on hand as well. 

“Well, well, well, what do we have here boys?” One of the Ronin asked as he approached her as if he had the advantage. She moved her eyes around as each man approached her, this is bad she thought to herself. Crowded fights were not her forte. There was only one option, she had to get away from them and she had the perfect way to do so. She put her hand in her satchel, grabbed a smoke bomb and threw it onto the ground causing smoke to surround her and the men around her. Using the smoke as her opportunity, she ran from the men as swiftly as she could. 

Not long after the smoke cleared, shouts followed her as she ran to hide from the crowd of men. There had been at least seven Ronin, they were always drunk or causing trouble, or both she thought to herself as she continued to run. She then noticed a small alleyway she could squeeze into as they ran past the area. Breathing hard, she tried to catch her breath from the running. To her dismay a plank of wood fell close to her, the men heard it and ran to her location to see if it was her. 

Letting out an exasperated sigh she stood and ran again, almost tripping over the wood she hurt her foot. A searing pain went through her leg, though she did all she could to not make a sound so she would not give her location away. This slowed her speed down quite a bit, making it so she had to run a little and find a hiding spot so she would not stress her foot too badly. She leaned her head back against the wall of a building enduring the pain of her ankle,” must’ve sprained it,” she whispered to herself. 

The voices of the men drew close again, so she moved again, that was when she met him. A man with dark red hair and dark amber eyes. She was drawn to him almost instantly, as if it were love at first sight. He looked her way for a moment, he was wearing white and red clothes under a blue coat with white stripes and had white bandages around his hands. His eyes widened as he saw the young woman, she was soaked because of the rain. 

He looked over to his men,” Go on without me, I will see to her. I won’t take long,” he promised them. His men nodded and walked ahead of him. He was surprised with how tall she was for a woman, putting that thought to the side he noticed her wincing as she put weight on her foot,” you shouldn’t move on that ankle, you will only make it worse,” he warned her as he leaned down and checked her ankle,” You have a pretty nasty sprain,” he informed her. So, she had been right about that she thought to herself. 

“Why did you stop to help me, a stranger?” She asked him confused. He looked up at her and smiled, “I saw that you may be injured and wanted to help. Not everyone needs a reason to help someone though,” he explained. She returned his smile with some shyness to it. Their moment didn’t last long as shouts were soon heard once again,” Great, they’re almost here. They don’t give up,” she said with an exasperated sigh. He looked down the street and saw the Ronin that had been chasing her. 

He narrowed his eyes angrily, “Don’t you worry ma’am, I won’t let them touch you,” he assured her as she was leaning her head against the building in pain. As the men approached them, he took his spear in one hand and readied a stance as he stood in front of the young woman. She watched him surprised, fighting was nothing new to her but having someone protect her instead of the other way around, that she was not accustomed to. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, not because she was in love, but from awe and respect for someone that would go out of his way to protect a stranger. 

He slammed his spear to the ground,” You have disturbed the peace, so you will be punished for it. Chasing a young woman to the point she gets injured is dishonorable!” he yelled at them angrily,” I, Sanosuke Harada Captain of the tenth division of the Shinsengumi shall defeat you all if you refuse to back down!” he declared as he lowed himself into a fighting stance holding his spear with both hands. This had caused the men to back away slightly,” A mibu wolf,” one of the men whispered in fear. One by one, the men ran in the other direction not wanting to deal with a member of the Shinsengumi. Once the men had scattered, he leaned his spear against the building and picked the young woman up and then asked one of his men to carry his spear for him. 

Surprised she looked up at him, her amethyst eyes meeting his dark amber eyes. He smiled as if to reassure her that it would be ok. “I don’t need to be carried off like a princess by a white knight,” she told him with a surprised tone in her voice. He laughed at her analogy,” No, but your ankle must hurt bad, so I rather carry you to our headquarters to have it treated over you making it worse. There aren’t any doctors awake at this hour otherwise I’d take you to one of them instead,” he responded with a smile. 

“So, your name is Sanosuke Harada huh? That was quite the intimidating speech you gave them, since I already know your name, I suppose I can give you my name. My name is Xai Celestial,” she told him as she looked up at him as he carried her. From time to time she looked back at the men following them back to the headquarters. Each step he took, and her ankle hit part of his body, pain was sent up her leg. He looked at her with concern noticing that she was enduring a lot of pain,” It’s nice to meet you Xai, endure a little longer we are almost there,” he told her with a concerned look. 

A little farther and he felt a weight on his shoulder, when he looked down, he saw that she had passed out from the pain. He looked at her with concern and continued to the headquarters. Wanting to get her to the headquarters quickly and since she had passed away, he sprinted there, the men followed behind keeping pace with him. Within five minutes they arrived at the gates, though to an angry man. His purple eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. 

“I told you your curfew, be lucky that I don’t make you take the punishment for breaking the rules,” he snapped. He looked over and then noticed a woman in the arms of Sanosuke,” Why did you bring a civilian here?” he asked coldly looking her over head to toe with his eyes. He moved his black ponytail behind his shoulder and approached Sanosuke,” she faint? Her ankle seems swollen too, let’s get her inside since you brought her here there is no saying what she may or may not here. If it comes to that there is no saying what will happen to her. Do you accept such responsibility on your shoulders for bringing her here?” he asked him as he looked Sanosuke square in the eye. 

“I accept responsibility, Vice Commander Hijikata. I apologize for being late, I had stopped to help her. At least seven ronin were chasing her, why I don’t know but I doubt it was a good reason, I will take any punishment you decide on,” he told the man with a serious tone to his voice. Hijikata thought for a moment and let out a sigh,” Let this be a warning. I will let it slide since you were helping someone. Hard to know what they would have done if they caught up to her,” he admitted as he led him into the headquarters common room. Once there, he laid her on a futon that Hijikata had rolled out, he smiled at him knowing that he wasn’t often this lenient. 

After laying Xai down, Sanosuke left the room and came back in with a first aid kit. Bending down on one knee he opened the kit and took out some bandage and wrapped it around her ankle so that it wasn’t too tight but tight enough to support the ankle so that I could heal up. After he finished wrapping her ankle, he took a cushion and placed it under her foot so that she could elevate her foot. Sanosuke looked over at Hijikata,” I will sleep in here tonight so that I can be here in case she needs something,” he told him as he pulled out a second spare futon. Scoffing Hijikata shrugged and muttered,” do as you wish,” then he walked off to go to bed himself. 

The next morning, the common room was crowded with the rest of the captains of the shinsengumi. Most of them were looking in shock at the fact that there was a woman sleeping in the common room. Sanosuke greeted them as they came in. A man with dark brown hair and blue eyes approached him,” Where the hell did you find a cute girl like her?” he asked clearly jealous. Sanosuke laughed,” Shinpachi I didn’t bring her here because I wanted to. She was being pursued by a group of ronin and hurt her ankle, with no doctors around at the time I brought her here to treat her ankle,” he explained. 

Shinpachi nudged at him sheepishly thinking he was just covering up, Sanosuke shook his head at his best friend sighing in exasperation. To shut him up he pulled his green bandana over his eyes. Shinpachi let out a yelp of surprise and took a minute to fix it, once he fixed it he shot his friend a playful glare. Another man that approached didn’t look to be a full-grown man despite being such, he had long brown hair in a ponytail with bluish eyes, he wore a yellow top mixed with purple. “Hey how come you two get all the fun?” He asked complaining. 

“Heisuke, I already told all of you, I only brought her here because at the time there were no open doctors. It was also raining, and she was soaked, and I didn’t want her to get sick,” Sanosuke explained once again showing signs of irritation since no one was listening to him. A man with a smirk on his face approached the two of them, he looked at the sleeping girl and then back at Sanosuke,” That’s what you say, but how are we to know you don’t want to say that to avoid punishment?” he asked with a smirk as he leaned over to touch her hair and Sanosuke stopped him with a glare. 

“Because, I was there when he came in with her, now knock your shit off Souji,” Hijikata snapped as he entered the room. A man with sandy brown hair, and hazel eyes, he wore a blue kimono and bowed sarcastically as Hijikata entered the room,” Good morning, Sannan,” Hijikata greeted. There was a man that had been standing in the back silently watching, he had purple hair in a low ponytail which trailed over his shoulder and bright blue eyes, he bowed to Hijikata as he entered the room,” Ah, Saito there you are was wondering where you were. I will have some work for you later,” he told him as he sat down. Saito nodded at him,” understood,” he muttered quietly. 

In the hall as the men were quieting down and finding their places to sit, two men entered the room. A man wearing a yellow kimono with black hair in an updo which showed some balding and then another man wearing a black kimono laughing as they entered the room, he too had black hair though unlike the other man his hair was not balding, and he had light brown eyes instead of hazel. Hijikata looked up as the two entered,” Kandou, Inoue I’m glad you made it for breakfast, though Sanosuke was going to wake our guest so we may all eat,” Hijikata said in greeting to the two as he shot Sanosuke a looked as if it had been an order. 

The two men looked over where Sanosuke was sitting in surprise,” oh my, there’s a young lady here,” Inoue said with a tone of surprise. Kondou had a look of surprise as well,” This is unusual, she doesn’t know anything does she?” he asked before Sanosuke shook her lightly to wake her up. Hijikata shook his head to affirm that she knew nothing that she should not. As she stirred, she opened her eyes and looked around and tried to sit up though it was obvious that it was not comfortable for her to do so. Sanosuke noticing this, helped her to sit up by letting her lean on him as he sat her up and repositioned her foot so that it was not being strained. “Where am I?” she asked quietly with a confused look. 

“You’re at the Shinsengumi headquarters,” Sanosuke explained,” I had to bring you here since it was late and a doctor wouldn’t help you if you were with me,” he continued as he held a somber look. A smile crossed her face which caused hearts across the room to skip a beat. “I appreciate you helping me then, most doctors are useless these days anyway,” she admitted as she sat up a little more. “The pain has gone down thanks to your help, anyway I don’t think I have met your comrades,” she said as she looked at the other members sitting around the room. 

Kondou sat down and looked at her with a smile,” Well, welcome to our headquarters. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to heal up. I am Isami Kondou, I am the commander of the Shinsengumi. Next to me is Genzaburou Inoue,” he told her as he motioned at the man next to him who had bowed at her,” It is a pleasure miss-“He motioned at her as if asking her name,” Xai Celestial,” she responded with a smile. “Beautiful name, I am the captain of the sixth division,” he continued. 

Kondou motioned at the next one in their sitting circle, a sly smile crossed his face,” Souji Okita Captain of the first division,” he shrugged and tilted his head to the next person,” Hajime Saito, captain of the third division,” he told her quietly with a bow and then looked at the person sitting next to him,”Heisuke Todou, captain of the eight division!” he said excitedly in what was almost a shout. Shinpachi hit him on the top of the head causing him to rub the top of his head in pain,” Shinpachi Nagakura, captain of the second division,” he told her with a smile as he sat back down from hitting Heisuke. 

Sannan nodded at her with a smile that was hard to distinguish if it were sincere or not,” Keisuke Sannan, I am the other Vice Commander much like Toshizo Hijikata,” he said motioning at Hijikata who was scowling at Heisuke for acting out once again. He then looked over at Xai,” Like he said my name is Toshizo Hijikata, there are two other members but you may or may not see them, they come and go,” he explained as he crossed his arms,” now that everyone introduced themselves let’s eat,” he said as he picked up his chopsticks. 

“Well, it is nice to meet you all, thank you for allowing me to stay though I am unsure why you told me your ranking and your name,” she admitted as she ate some of the rice rather slowly since it had too much salt. Shinpachi noticing the expression looked around,” who used too much salt again?” he asked rather disgruntled as he shoveled the rice in his mouth. No one answered his question, as everyone was eating their food. 

As soon as most of the men left the room, Xai checked her ankle noticing that it was nearly healed already. She touched it lightly when none of the men were looking her way so that she could finish the healing of her ankle. Then she removed the bandage,” Looks like it is better guess it wasn’t as bad as it felt,” she said with a smile. Stating that, she stood up to test her ankle out and like she had expected there was no pain. Sanosuke smiled at her,” I am glad your pain is gone, what do you plan to do now?” he asked her curiously. 

She thought for a moment, “I will probably go back to town and check into the hotel I was supposed to show up at last night. Given what you guys said about your reputation around here, I will just tell them I got delayed by a day,” she told him with a shrug. He smiled wryly and nodded,” probably a good idea, otherwise they may not allow you to stay there,” he told her with a somber look. Xai looked at him sadly but nodded and picked up her satchel, she shrugged it onto her shoulder and then started on her way out. Though she was stopped by Sanosuke,” Let me at least walk you out of the headquarters,” he offered. With a smile she nodded accepting his offer. The two of them then walked out the door together, he walked her to the gates that he brought her through the other night. “Be more careful so this doesn’t happen again, can’t always be there to help you,” he advised with a smile. “Don’t worry, Sanosuke I will be careful, that only happened because of the rain causing a plank of wood to fall on my ankle,” she explained. The two nod at each other and with a wave she left for town. 

Going the long way so it wouldn’t seem that she came from Mibu took longer than she had expected, as it was nearly sundown by the time, she reached Kyoto. Sighing, she looked around looking for the hotel she was booked to stay at. She then spotted it, a brown little building with the words ‘Ikedaya Inn’ plastered on the side of the building. “There it is,” she muttered to herself as she crossed from where she was standing and walked inside. 

“Oh, welcome to Ikedaya Inn,” a woman at the front said with a bow though she had not been expecting a customer at the moment. “Hello, my name is Xai Celestial, and I had reserved a room. I had planned to check in yesterday, but the rain delayed my trip from Edo,” she explained. The woman smiled at her and nodded,” Ah yes, I am glad that you made it safely your room is right this way miss Celestial,” she said as she motioned for her to follow her to her room. Xai followed her and as they reached the room, she thanked her and the two bowed to each other and then the woman walked off to return to her duties. She looked around the room, it was on the small side with a rolled-up futon in the corner with a blanket folded next to it. “I still can’t get used to how different it is here,” she said to herself as she looked out the window. Despite having no where to go overseas where she was from, she missed it all the same. She closed her eyes to stop herself from crying. 

It was then that she sensed someone above her room’s roof, looking up she removed part of the roof and heard footsteps moving away from the room, not appreciating being spied on, she jumped up there herself crouching low enough that she could move across just as quickly and cornered the person close to her room. The spy had in fact been a man with long brown hair held a ponytail with purple eyes,” who are you and why are you watching my room?” she asked him angrily. The man looked at her shocked,” You could tell I was there despite how silent I was,” he stammered. “Of course, I could, I can feel energy from people around me. Tell me are you one of those two members Hijikata spoke of that I would or would not meet?” she demanded as she held him by the scruff of his shirt. 

“Yes, now if you would kindly release me, I will tell you why I am here, preferably in your room,” he told her as he grabbed at the hand that was grabbing his kimono. “Fine, but no funny stuff as I move in front of you,” she warned as she made her way back to her room. Once in her room, she backed away from the hole in the roof and he jumped down and joined her and then another man appeared after him. She raised a brow at the two of them. “Ninja, huh?” she asked to no one in particular. The two looked at her in surprise but said nothing, “First let’s get to know each other I am Susumu Yamazaki, and my companion here is Kai Shimada,” he told her as he motioned at the bigger man. He wore a green kimono with a black trail where it folded. The other man wore a red kimono, he had his black hair in an updo, and he smiled at her with kind looking amber yellow eyes. She thought for a moment as she heard their introductions. 

“I would normally say it’s nice to meet you but right now I am not so sure since you were spying on my room. Where I am from, they call that a peeping tom,” she told the two of them irritably. They looked at her confused,” So, you aren’t from Japan normally?” the two of them asked. She shook her head,” No, I’m from overseas, why I am here though is my business that I don’t wish to share with you,” she told them in a mater of a fact tone. “I’m assuming I don’t need to tell you my name either since you work for Hijikata,” she said a little irritated. The two of them nodded to confirm that she was right, she shook her head and looked at the ground. 

“Anyway, know that we weren’t sent to spy on you but to warn you of an attack that will happen here soon,” Yamazaki informed her as his partner nodded his head as to confirm what he was saying. She stood there and thought for a moment,” So be it, I have nowhere else to go so I suppose I will just have to know of the attack and make sure innocent people aren’t dragged into it,” she told him with a small smile. “I appreciate the warning though you could have just come through the door and then you wouldn’t have alarmed me in the manner you did,” she told him as she crossed her arms. He smiled at her wryly,” I suppose you are right about that, though he ordered us not to be seen by the other members- “she raised her brow and tapped her foot,” perhaps a message then?” she said growing more irritated by the second. 

The two men averted her eyes and then bowed and excused themselves having finished their jobs. As soon as they left her room they returned to the Shinsengumi headquarters, they looked as if they wanted to drop where they stood. Hijikata looked at the two of them,” Is there a problem?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Yamazaki shook his head, “No, vice-commander, just surprised that she could tell we were above her room despite not having made a sound,” he informed him which had caused a surprised look from Hijikata as well. 

He thought for a moment on what he had just been told, he realized she may need some actual observation. “This woman appears to be rather unique, they to observe her from a distance without being caught if possible,” he ordered though he got two nervous looks in response. He gave the two of them an exasperated look and dismissed them. That was when Souji came into the room,” able to find them when they are silent she sounds like fun,” he told Hijikata as he let out a laugh,” I wonder how she is in a fight,” he wondered aloud as Hijikata shot him a glare as a warning which caused him to leave the room. 

At the inn tension could be felt in the air, sitting in her room Xai could hear every conversation going on around her. She closed her eyes as she focused on a certain conversation, talk about an attack and then there was word about the place and time. “It would seem those two were right about their information but will they see through their trickery I wonder,” she wondered aloud to herself. She then stood and changed from the purple kimono with yellow butterfly decorations to a black garb that was easy to move in. There was a piece that covered her mouth and black boots and gloves. If she was to warn the innocent people she wanted to be an unknown person.

[rike-with-love]

Be Mine (chapter 3)

Pairings: Okikagu

Rating: M for mature content, bad language, violence, angst

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or it's characters, Sorachi Hideaki does. I only own this story.

Author’s notes: I have a link to my fanfiction masterlist on my profile. Please check it out for more chapters and fics!

Chapter 3

After the sunset the evening was chilly. Streets of Kabukicho were still full of people. Kagura was running with a dust trail behind her. She was running as fast as she could... Kagura's mind was commanded by one thought and one thought only: Get home, NOW. Was she running so hastily to get home, or was she trying to outrun her ferocious heartbeat? She wasn't sure.

Finally, Kagura reached home, she jumped on the balcony and slid the front door open. Someone was in the living room. Kagura kicked her boots off and took a deep breath. ”Kagura-chan?” A familiar voice asked. Kagura walked into the living room. ”Gin-chan, why are you still up? Kagura asked.

Gintoki had his crossed fingers under his chin and a concerned look on his face. Kagura dodged Gintoki's eyes and quickly shuffled towards her closet. Gintoki got up and tried to grab Kagura by her shoulder, but she was faster and managed to close her closet door before Gintoki got to her. Kagura leaned her back against the door. She let herself slide down on the floor and she felt warm tears on her cheeks.

Gintoki stood behind the door and Kagura knew that. ”Kagura-chan, listen to me. I know you must feel terrible about what happened earlier today, that old baldie surprised even me.” Gintoki said. Kagura stayed silent and kept listening to Dadtoki Gintoki. ”This thing will clear up tomorrow, I'm sure about it. But if you want to talk about it, I'm here,” Gintoki said while scratching his natural perm hair.

Kagura sniffled louder. Gintoki panicked and said: ”Oi, oi, please don't cry I- He was caught short by Kagura's words: ”It's okay Gin-chan, I'm just feeling a little odd.” Gintoki took a deep breath and said: ”I'm sorry that your father has made you feel that way, that's really messed up.” Kagura was shaking her head and said: ”It's not papi that made feel this odd feeling.”

Gintoki was a bit confused. ”Oh, what do you mean Kagura-chan, did someone else do something to hurt you?” Gintoki asked with worry. Kagura closed her eyes, wiped away her tears and touched her neck. She remembered Sougo's breath that tingled her skin, just the thought of it made her mouth dry. ”Kagura?” Gintoki repeated. ”I...I'm tired Gin-chan, good night!” Kagura said while getting up from the floor.

A puzzled Gintoki walked away from Kagura's door, then he heard it, the tiniest and most sinful: *GROOOOOOOOWL*. Gintoki smiled and walked away. Kagura changed into her pyjamas and laid on her sort of bed. What a weird day, since when did that stupid sadist begin to look kind of...handsome...no...not handsome. A giant pile of amanto dung, uh-huh. Kagura though, as she turned to her side.

Kagura felt a warm and fuzzy feeling when she thought about Sougo's face and his eyes, his fierce reddish eyes. What is wrong with me? Why is my heart so warm when I think about him? So weird and gross, (mental barf). Kagura thought to herself. Her tummy growled again and she decided to sneak in some food without Gintoki's knowledge.

Kagura got up and opened her door. Lights were out and silent snoring could be heard from Gintoki's room. Perfect, Kagura thought and took a step. She hit her toe on something small. It was a full box of sukonbu on the floor, just for her. Kagura smiled and thought: Maybe you aren't such a useless madao after all Gin-chan.

She picked up the sukonbu and closed the door. Kagura laid on her bed again, munching and thinking. It would be a sleepless night, but not once did she worry about her future husband or her papi, there was only one man in her head that night.

Across the town, at the exact same moment, poor Yamazaki happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. ”Okita-taichou! Where have you been, you weren't attending our evening training?” Yamazaki asked while holding a bag of anpans. Captain Okita Sougo stomped into the Shinsengumi compound and was heading straight for his room. ”Okita-taichou?” Yamazaki asked again (which was an obvious mistake, poor guy).

Sougo gave Yamazaki a demonic look. Yamazaki's life flashed before his eyes. Sougo grabbed his bag of anpans, stuffed it in his bazooka and fired at the badminton master of the Shinsengumi. Yamazaki ducked in time, but the yard was filled with a mash of anpan. Other officers were looking with horror and confusion. Sougo kept on walking towards his room.

Sougo was blocked by a cigarette smoking Hijikata. Sougo stopped and said with anger in his voice: ”Get out of my face.” Hijikata looked at the wet captain and asked: ”What the hell happened to you?” ”Get out of my fucking face, NOW!” Sougo yelled and forced himself to pass his superior. Sougo didn't look back and went to his room. Hijikata was puffing his cigarette and followed Sougo with his eyes.

Finally, in the privacy of his room, Sougo yanked off his wet jacket, kicked his shoes off and let himself collapse on the floor on his knees. He clenched his fists and felt his pounding heart again. Damn you China, damn you. You kicked me in the crotch, who does that, but wild monsters, which she obviously is, a horrible beast...horribly strong beast...a strong beast woman...woman. Such an enchanting woman...What, how did it get into this again? Sougo thought as he pounded his fist on the floor.

Sougo felt so humiliated that he let himself be so vulnerable with Kagura and then she took advantage of the situation. Sougo got up from the floor, set out his futon and changed on his sleeping yukata. As Sougo laid in bed, he closed his eyes and thought about Kagura.

I really thought she was giving me ”signs”. I'm such an idiot. This is the beast girl that caught my eye since...well a long time ago, I finally need to accept that. She is so different from every other woman. She really cares about her friends and family. China has such an amazing effect on everyone around her, her energy and her smile are so infectious.

Oh god...I would sound so pathetic if anyone could hear me now (I think you sound sweet Sougo) I've been in denial for so long, but I guess it's time to come clean to China...I have to make sure I can kill her if she laughs at me. China...do you really hate me so much? Sougo wondered. Sougo had always been a man that was hard to read, because of his deadpan face. Although a true companion, a true partner would see right past his shell.

It was a silent night, few stars were winking from the dark sky. Sougo was looking at the sky through his window. He was so head over heels for Kagura that even the freaking stars reminded of her sparkly eyes. It seemed that the 1st division captain was a soft, snuggly teddy bear inside. Maybe I should do that chivalrous shit, maybe a bouquet of sukonbus or something. Sougo sighed at his gooey thoughts and tried to get some sleep.

Next day at the Yorozuya, Gintoki and Shinpachi were sitting in complete silence. Kagura hadn't come out of her room yet. Shinpachi was getting anxious, he was tapping his foot rapidly. Gintoki was reading JUMP and tried to ignore his subordinate. Shinpachi's foot had reached the speed of light. ”Shinpachi!! I'm going to rip that foot off you and feed it Sadaharu if you don't stop, right, NOW!” a roar was heard from Kagura's closet.

Shinpachi froze at the sight of angry Kagura walking out of her closet. ”Ka-Kagura-chan, you're up!” Shinpachi stuttered with a nervous smile. Kagura rolled her eyes and stomped into the kitchen. Gintoki's nose was buried deep inside his JUMP. ”Kagura-chan, there's some breakfast ready for you, we weren't that hungry,” Gintoki said without lifting his gaze. Kagura knew it was sort of a pity breakfast, but she was hungry, so she went with it.

The Yorozuya trio was sitting in the living room and Kagura had changed her clothes and was now devouring her second portion of breakfast. There was a knock on the door. Everyone froze on the spot, they all knew who was at the door. Shinpachi got up and went to answer the door. ”Umibouzu-san, come in!” Shinpachi said. Kagura swallowed her food and put the empty bowl on the living room table. Gintoki was silently observing her actions.

Shinpachi and Umibouzu made their way to the couches in the middle of the living room. Umibouzu sat next to Gintoki and straight across from Kagura. Kagura was looking at her feet with a neutral face. Umibouzu cleared out his throat and said: ”Kagura, I would like to talk to you, privately, if you don't mind?”

Kagura gave her father a tiny nod and got up. ”Papi, let's take a walk outside,” Kagura said and grabbed her parasol. Umibouzu followed her and they left the Yorozuya shop. ”What do you think he is going to tell Kagura? Gintoki and Shinpachi changed looks and shrugged their shoulders.

Kagura and Umibouzu were walking in Kabukicho district, it was a sunny day and the streets were once again full of people. Kagura was holding her parasol with both hands, her two long ponytails were flowing with her step. Umibouzu was looking at her daughter, he wanted to explain everything to her. ”Out with it papi! You came here for a reason, yes?” Kagura said neutrally.

”Kagura, as I told you yesterday, I made a deal with Orochi, the leader of Kuro Orochi. I got the Altanian crystal from him and I promised you as his bride,” Umibouzu explained. ”I got that already, I just...I love my life here, and this is going to change everything,” Kagura said.

Kagura had mixed emotions, she wanted to honor her father's deal, but she was very unsure of marrying someone she didn't know. Kagura's thoughts were interrupted with Umibouzu's words: ”Orochi will arrive in two weeks, that's when you meet him and the wedding arrangements will begin.” ”In two weeks, what if I hate him, or he is a fat madao or something?” Kagura asked.

”Uh, well he is much nicer than he was in his youth,” Umibouzu said nervously. ”I was only kidding papi, besides if he's a weird man, I'm going to kick his ass, that's what I do to weird men,” Kagura cheered. ”No, Kagura-” Umibouzu began, before Kagura laughed: ”You really don't get my jokes papi.” Umibouzu laughed a bit.

”So, in two weeks I'll meet this Orochi, I hope he buys me lots of sukonbu AAAND I hope he isn't a stupid sadistic bastard...” Kagura huffed. ”A sadistic bastard? Umibouzu inquired. ”Umm...nevermind papi, well now that you are here, can we go eat something, you'll pay of course, because my paycheck hasn't arrived yet.” (actually not once in 4 years)

As the strong Yato duo was looking for a restaurant Kagura hadn't been banned because of her bottomless appetite. Umibouzu felt that there was one thing he wanted to clarify for his daughter: ”Kagura, I want you to know, that if there was a safe way for you to get out of this deal, I would do it...I just don't want to put you in danger.”

Kagura patted her father's helmet and said: ”Don't worry papi, I can take care of myself, you have nothing to worry about. I've always wanted a sugar daddy to buy me everything I, a beautiful, blooming woman, would want.” ”You are so brave,” Umibouzu said with a proud smile.

Kagura was putting on a smile, but secretly she was still very scared. Kagura was scared that she had to marry someone who she might not love, that would make her very depressed, even with a lot of money to spend. Money was only money to Kagura, she valued strength, loyalty, and trust. She didn't have anyone special in mind, not anyone who made her heart race...right?