I went crazy and went from 7k words to 9k words. Whoops my hand slipped. I should've posted this before the end of August, but it got a bit crazy on my side, so here you go, albeit late. ^^;

All my thanks to tangerinespectre of Tumblr for giving me ideas and for beta reading this monstrous length of a fic orz

For keisatsuu of Tumblr, who had been waiting for an update. Here you go. ^^

Also, to Al, whose review I read just after I finished writing this chapter. Hopefully, this is good enough.

Lastly, to each and every reviewer of this fic: thank you so much for patiently waiting. Here's the next chapter! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. It belongs to Sorachi Hideaki.

Of Detentions and Mixed Signals

Chapter 7

Immediately after a Saturday lunch during late August, Kagura proceeded to her room, her mother Tsukuyo in tow, to help her get dressed in her new yukata.

It was the last week of festival season, and like everyone else, she was determined to spend her final summer break with friends and enjoy the biggest fireworks festival in her area. What made her happier was the fact that she would be able to fully enjoy the event, as the cast on her right arm that had rendered her very uncomfortable for a good month been finally been removed during the second week of August, which coincided with the twins' first monthly check-up.

… And to her surprise, during that time, the person she least expected to be there appeared before her.

"… What are you doing here?" she asked him.

Okita Sougo shrugged as he neared her. "… Your doctor did say before that I have to accompany you—"

"I already told you it was not necessary." She snapped back.

He continued on as if she did not interrupt him. "And your mom called me, asking me to go to the hospital because she said you might need the company."

As to how her mother got a hold of his number had not been her main concern as of the moment, but the fact that her mom had been kind enough to think of her well-being during the removal of her cast had warmed her heart, despite the fact that Tsukuyo had chosen the person she was least closest to.

Right now, her parents were busy with the babies, as they were waiting in line for the checkup, and they left her to deal with the whole thing.

Frankly, she was scared.

It was illogical, really, for a sixteen year old to be scared of getting her cast removed, when it should have been during the cast attachment that should have scared her but… she just couldn't help it. She wanted to hold either mom or dad's hand when the removal happened, but they were too busy with her younger siblings and—

Gritting her teeth, she took a deep breath and began to walk towards the doctor's office, vaguely aware that he was trailing behind her.

There was no way in hell she'd show him that she was scared.

… Looking back, however, it wasn't as if she didn't have any fun a week ago, when Soyo threw that late birthday celebration at the hotel, her first cast-free event even, but—

Fireworks were a different thing altogether.

Soyo's late birthday party celebration was a formal event, as it was held in a fancy hotel, with everyone all dressed up in their formal attire, while festivals were all about having fun eating and staring at the pretty fireworks that would go high up in the sky. Even if one did not have a yukata, it was fine to go around in a jinbei [1] as well.

Festivals also meant buying a lot of food from the food stalls, trying out the goldfish game, getting prizes from the shooting gallery… she had been happily awaiting this event ever since her cast had been removed and after she had gotten permission from her parents to go out on her own with her friends.

Despite being someone who kept to herself, she did have friends, albeit very few, as she preferred a small circle over having a lot of acquaintances. For today, she would be having fun with Shinpachi, Soyo (who had also been allowed to join them, as her bodyguards would be watching them from a safe distance), Nobume-sempai, and, to her surprise and dismay, Okita.

… Sure, she danced with the guy during the masquerade ball, but that was it.

He was nothing special.

… But why was she getting nervous over it?

"Something on your mind?" her mother asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh, uhh… just… thinking about what to eat later." It was half the truth anyway; she couldn't wait to eat takoyaki again.

"I see." Tsukuyo smiled. "Mind if you run down again who you will be with tonight?"

"Well, there's me, Shinpachi, Soyo-chan, Nobume-sempai…" at this, she took a deep breath. "… And Okita."

Tsukuyo couldn't suppress the surprise in her voice as she began wrapping the two-toned light pink obi around her daughter's torso. "Oh? You two are finally getting along now?"

"… Shinpachi invited him." She did want him not to join their group for this year's fireworks festival, but she had to grudgingly admit that Shinpachi getting outnumbered by the girls would not be the best way to spend his Saturday. He may be okay hanging out with her at times, but it was evident that he would prefer to keep his sanity intact by inviting a guy whom he got along with, who happened to be Okita Sougo.

As for her, she had no choice but to tolerate him for the rest of the night.

… Besides, if he did anything funny, there were three other people who would witness it.

"I see." Tsukuyo nodded. "Just don't do anything that will ruin your festival experience."

"You should be saying that to him, not me." She grunted.

Tsukuyo smiled, amused. "Then please tell him not to ruin your festival experience." After securing the obi, she then placed the pre-made bow at the front, and tugged it around her daughter's waist until it was located on her back.

"There you go. All done." Tsukuyo beamed at her.

"Thanks mom!" in her excitement, she hugged her mother, who hugged her back, chuckling.

"Now go have fun."

He was rather excited for this year's fireworks festival.

All in all, he had been to three festivals thus far, and for this year, it had been fun. As a child, this was one of the times when he and his sister could spend time with one another, especially when she began working, and were hardly seeing one another. During the Obon holidays, she was given the whole week off, and they made it a point to spend as much time together as possible.

This year, however, one festival he went to nearly made him resent the supposedly happy season.

Not only did that bastard Hijikata ruin it, but the recent one that he had gone to, his sister just had to invite that guy with them. Just so Nozomu could spend time with his father. Even if she knew that there was no chance of him and Hijikata ever getting along.

Sougo dearly loved his sister; he did.

But it was beyond him as to why she was still clinging on to the man who never had any intention to marry her, and was likely to never change his mind about it.

Sure, he gave Nozomu his last name, but that was it.

Okita Mitsuba was desperately in love with Hijikata Toushirou, while that bastard was in love with someone whom he could never have, in the form of Sakata Kagura's mother, Sakata Tsukuyo, who seemed very happy and very much in love with the silver-haired guy, who loved her back.

The whole thing reeked of elements taken from a drama series, and as much as he wanted no part of it, he was pretty much stuck in it, as even he had his own shoujo manga love story to deal with.

To his advantage, as far as he knew, Sakata didn't have any feelings for anyone, which was a good sign, but it still did not mean that she was okay with him.

… But at least she was slightly warming up to him, especially when he accompanied her to the doctor's office when her cast got removed.

When the nurse called her name in the waiting room, she stood up immediately and robotically began to walk towards the doctor's clinic.

He promised that he would simply wait until it was over, but then, upon seeing her looking so grim made him think that leaving Sakata to her own devices was not a good idea… especially since he noticed her turning really pale as she made her way to the treatment room. Seeing her shaking slightly, he followed her line of sight. The cast saw, as soon as he saw it, made him wince. It was a nasty-looking thing, and he knew if the doctor was incompetent—

"W-why are you following me?" she said upon realizing that he followed her. "G-go back to the waiting room."

"… Sakata, you're shaking." He resisted the urge to put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think you can handle this on your own."

"Shut up, what do you know?" she asked him harshly.

He sighed, clearly not in the mood to argue. "Look, you're trembling… and you don't have to put a front." Before she could argue, Sougo said, "Your hands are shaking, and I'm sure it's not from the cold." Even with the air-conditioning unit, it was still warm inside.

"Ms. Sakata?" the nurse called out. "This way please."

He did not trust her to go on her own, so he trailed behind her, much to her irritation.

His guess became true when, as soon as she sat down on the hospital bed, she turned paler. Sakata looked like she was about to faint, and he was afraid that she might do just that. Immediately, without thinking, he grabbed her left hand with his own left hand and began squeezing it gently, shoving all possibilities that after this, their shaky relationship might go back to square one. To his surprise, she suddenly buried her forehead against his shoulder.

"Shall I proceed, Ms. Sakata?" asked the elderly male doctor.

"Yes." She said, her eyes still shut.

When the saw began to cut open the cast, she visibly winced and stiffened, her free hand squeezing his own rather tightly, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. As much as possible, he was only there to hold her hand, nothing more. No thumb rubbing against the back of her hand, as it might make her more uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he wanted.

For now, he would just do his best to get her to calm down.

She couldn't look at him straight in the eye after the cast removal incident, but at least she managed to mutter a 'thank you' right after he accompanied her to meet her parents.

That, along with a surprise lunch and dinner out with her family, made his day.

… Somehow, he felt pathetic for rejoicing over something so simple, but interactions between them had been far and few. Before summer break, they hardly saw one another, as he was busy with kendou practices, while she did her own thing (according to Shimura, she was part of the 'going home club' [2]). There were times where she visited the dojo to talk to Shimura, but he was too preoccupied with a match versus an upperclassman to even look at her.

At the back of his mind, he hoped that she would try and notice that it was him sparring with an upperclassman, but a guy could dream.

On the last day of school, they didn't even manage to greet one another a happy break (like everyone else did when they were leaving school), as he spent the remaining time in school finalizing the details of the school festival just so he wouldn't have to deal with it during summer break.

It worked, but of course, that meant a rather boring summer break, as that meant he didn't have to go to school (not that he wanted to). He didn't go to the beach, nor did he go around the shopping centers. Instead, he took care of Nozomu, who had been rather excited and happy at the prospect of 'Sou-chan' being able to play with him every single day, which he followed through with, much to his nephew's delight. The only time he and Nozomu went out was when they were eating at a fast food restaurant or when they went to the park to play catch, assuming that it wasn't too hot. The last thing he needed was staying cooped up at home for the whole summer, taking care of a sick Nozomu.

Other than that, his summer had been pretty uneventful, until he received a call from her mother regarding the cast removal, which had been a very surreal experience for him.

A week after the hospital trip, just when he thought he would swore off festivals for this year (way to damper the mood after Tokugawa Soyo's birthday celebration), Shimura had contacted him, asking him if he wanted to attend a festival near his place.

Shimura, being the sly guy that he was, used a trump card. "Oh, I forgot to tell you… Kagura's gonna attend too."

Before he could stop himself, he said 'yes'.

And now, at four in the afternoon, he was already in the area, as he was left on his own during Obon, all because Hijikata just had to be an ass and his sister took this as yet another opportunity to spend time with him, taking Nozomu along with her. He only had a slice of bread for breakfast, and he needed a heavier meal, like takoyaki or yakisoba.

He was going to use two hours he had to eat before the meet-up.

The last thing he wanted was passing out during one of the few chances he had in hanging out with Sakata.

The fireworks were to start at 7 in the evening, but everyone had decided to meet up at late in the afternoon, around half past five. Kagura, however, went early because she wanted to check out all of the stalls.

Specifically the food stalls.

Grinning to herself, she bought ten pieces of takoyaki, all for herself, and was just about to try and look for a seat where she could enjoy eating her good until she saw Okita, all alone, the seat across him empty. Just her luck, all of the tables and chairs laid out on the open field were taken, the single seat left unoccupied would be the one across from him. She still could eat her food while standing up, but it was awkward to do, since the takoyaki were unsteadily placed on the plate, and were also in danger of falling if she wasn't careful with the way she ate. The drawstring pouch inside the brownwoven bag she was holding on to required one hand to hold it, as she couldn't slip it over her arm.

This was a dilemma… and even if there was an easier way to deal with it, she would do it.

… And it meant swallowing her pride and asking Okita if she could sit across him.

Utterly defeated, she slowly made her way to where he was eating, and she called him. "Okita."

The student council president looked up from his food and nodded. "Sakata. You're early." Despite the coolness in his tone, he nearly jumped at the sight of her.

If he worded every single thing he could think of, it would be highly out of character for him; for now, 'cute' would suffice. Clad in a pale yellow yukata, the peach-colored prints of flowers (he had no idea what the name of the flowers are), contrasted nicely with the color of the cloth. The lighter shade of pink in the obi she wore matched the color of the flowers, which Sougo thought complemented her outfit properly. A light pink cord was tied around the obi as well. Her hair was tied up in a huge bun on top of her head, which was her usual style whenever they saw one another at school, but this time around, a red-colored corsage was placed on the left side of her head, just above her ear.

She sat down across from him, sighing. "I wanted to eat before the meet up."

"Same." He said, gesturing the plates of yakisoba he had been eating. Curiously, there were red condiments found on top of the dish.

"… Are those chili flakes?" she asked. At his nod, she raised an eyebrow. "You like spicy things?"

"I grew up eating spicy food." He told her.

She wondered just how it was possible for someone like him to down something so spicy when she herself didn't really like it. "… So I guess you like kimchi?"

"Yeah, I can eat that. It's better in winter though." He told her as he ate his yakisoba with so much gusto with chopsticks. "Warms your body because of the spiciness."

She wouldn't really know but she guessed that she had to take his word for it. "I see. It's been too hot lately though… do you still eat spicy food during summer?"

"When the craving gets bad, I do eat at times. But as you've said, it gets really hot, and with the weather right now, it's not a good idea." He finished his plate and piled it up on the side. "For the meantime, I'm keeping it at a minimum."

She nodded, eating her takoyaki. Because her mouth was full, it spared her the nearly-forced conversation with him.

Honestly, until now, she did not know what to make of Okita Sougo.

Kagura could probably point it to the fact that he had been horrible towards her since their junior high school years, then finally going out of control when they got to high school. While everyone else around her grew up and started maturing both physically and emotionally, Okita did not, and why he had become student council president with that kind of immature attitude was beyond her. It may have been because of his charm, and the fact that he was the only student who ran for president, especially since the upperclassmen did not bother to run for any student council position. Another reason why they did not join was because their very own upperclassmen were the very reason why the school did not have a school festival during her freshman years, and had been powerless to even try to give the school a festival that they deserved.

With Okita having the school under his spell at the start of their term just last April, it had been easier to make fun of her. Upfront bullying was not done by him, but his idiotic fangirls did the job for him. While he was sorry for her arm, she knew he wasn't sorry about what he had done for the past few years.

Besides that, who knew when this would last?

He could start the bullying again when they get back to school.

That was what she feared the most.

"Tell me honestly, Okita." She said right after swallowing her food. At his questioning look, she asked bluntly, "How long is this gonna last?"

"Huh?" he gave her a confused look.

"Being nice to me." She gave him a hard look, her sapphire-colored eyes turning cold. "You can be nice all you want during summer, but that doesn't mean you won't do it again when school starts."

He wasn't exactly caught off-guard, but for her to open this topic, of all the times…

He might as well be honest about it.

"Sakata, believe me, I've thought this over, and I have decided to actually be nice this time around towards you—"

"What's your guarantee then?" she asked him, suspicion heavy on her tone.

"Look, I know you don't exactly trust me." He began. "But maybe it won't hurt if you stop suspecting me of doing some prank that will endanger you."

Seeing her retain her cold stare, Okita sighed. "I doubt I can do anything today to prove myself, as Shimura and the others will be keeping an eye on me, no doubt."

"I'm keeping my eye on you too." She reminded him. "Don't forget that."

"Feel free to do so." He challenged her.

"Glad we're agreeing on this." And with that, she began to devour her food mercilessly.

By half past five, all of them have finally met up at a lesser crowded part of the festival grounds, which happened to be at the end of the stalls. In the end, Imai Nobume had not been able to make it ("Sorry, I don't feel well" was the message she had sent to Kagura), while Shimura Shinpachi and Tokugawa Soyo opted to get dressed in casual clothing, when everyone had agreed to wear yukata.

"Sorry, I didn't get to buy." was Shinpachi's excuse as he proudly stood before them, without any hint of remorse, flaunting his outfit, which consisted of a pair of jeans and a shirt.

"I always go to the toilet, so a yukata is problematic for me to wear." Soyo, on the other hand, wore a red tanktop under a short-sleeved white jacket. She wore black-colored leggings over her shorts and on her feet were a pair of rubber shoes.

Seeing them not in traditional wear made her realize that only she and Okita were dressed in yukata.

Somehow, it bothered her.

Not to mention Shinpachi was grinning at her knowingly.

"Looking good, you two." Shinpachi remarked.

When the hell did she and Okita become some kind of combination set?!

She ignored his remark. "Maybe we should go and find a spot already." she announced to everyone.

"Yeah, I think we should." Soyo nodded. "It'll start in an hour, and we need to start looking for a good spot."

"Let's start moving then." Shinpachi nodded. "Lead the way, Kagura. You know this area more than me."

She had been living around this area since she was born, after all.

"Okay. The spot by the river near the train station is a good place. Follow me." She told everyone. "Also, let's all stick together. We might get lost."

As they began to walk, it was becoming evident that it was getting crowded as more people began to arrive. It wasn't called the biggest fireworks festival of her area for nothing, as it was one of the more popular ones in Tokyo. Fortunately, the area was spacious, and it meant there were plenty of spaces to choose from. She had a particular one in mind which was a bit far off, but it had been the usual area where she and Gintoki would go to during the fireworks festival when she was little. Knowing that her friends were still following her, she walked and walked…

… until someone tugged her yukata sleeve.

She looked back to see Okita frowning at her. "… I can't find Shimura… nor Soyo." He told her.

"W-w-what!?" panicking, she opened her drawstring bag to grab her phone.

"Not gonna work." He told her. "Service is down. Believe me, I tried."

She looked at him in disbelief until she checked the default screen of her mobile phone. To her shock, there was no signal bar on the upper right side. "W-what the—"

"Too many people this year." He told her. "It happens."

'Don't tell me it just happens!'

As if reading her mind, Okita shrugged. "You probably have seen news reports about Comiket having bad signal. That's what's happening right now, actually. Too many people, the mobile carriers can't handle the amount of traffic. They probably did not see this coming." [3] He informed her. "They would've at least contacted the mobile companies to help boost the signals, but I guess not."

He felt awful seeing her look so devastated over the fact that their two friends were nowhere to be found and that she wouldn't be able to contact them. Coughing, he asked her, "So… what now, Sakata?"

What now indeed.

She wanted to hang out with them, but was stuck with Okita Sougo, of all people.

… But still, it gave her an idea.

Why not torture him by dragging him around the stalls? She was itching to play a festival game that involved shooting targets, and if she was lucky, she could shoot him with a cork bullet, then claim that 'it was an accident'.

Hopefully, there was one such stall… or if not, she could always do the goldfish game and use the flimsy scooper to splash water on his face 'accidentally'.

"I'm going to play some festival games." She told him.

He nodded. "Lead the way then. I'll just follow you."

She smirked inwardly.

He fell for it.

At this, she turned left and headed back towards the crowd…

… only to get herself led in all directions humanly possible.

The crowd had gotten so thick in the gaming and the food stalls that it was hard to navigate around. It didn't help that she was shorter than the average Japanese female, so the crowd swallowed her… and it was getting harder to breathe. The same old air that everyone else was breathing made her gasp, and as much as she did not want to faint, she was in danger of doing so…

… until someone grabbed her arm.

Looking up, she found Okita tugging her out of the crowd and into one of the small spaces in-between the stalls, where she let out a sigh of relief as she felt fresh air enter her nostrils. "Sakata, don't push your way in so reckless. You might get lost." He was thankful that he was tall enough to see where she was, or he could have lost sight of her just like the others.

"… I think you should probably lead the way this time." She muttered, angry at the fact that she was short and that the crowd was becoming her enemy. This has never happened to her during the last few festivals, but as her companion had said earlier, it was more crowded this year. She opened her bag again to see if the signals were back, and as expected, there was a red-colored 'x' on the place where the signal bar should be.

"Where do you want to go anyway?" he asked. "I need to know where I'll be walking to."

"Shooting gallery." She said simply.

He nodded. "I think it's better if you hold on to my sleeve while we walk."

Privately, she grimaced at the thought of touching him more than necessary. Both the masquerade ball and the cast removal incidents that involved touching him was enough to last her a lifetime, but this time around, it couldn't be helped. The crowd was so bad, and if she wanted her shooting gallery time, she had to endure this little trial. "Fine." Slowly, she held on to his right sleeve and he started walking towards the crowd once more.

The shooting gallery was still far off from where they were located, which was at the starting end of the sixty stalls that were set up for this year. Thirty stalls stood face to face towards one another and in the middle of the stalls was the pathway to get to them. Unfortunately for her, the one she was aiming for was the twenty-fifth stall, and they were currently at the first stall.

This was going to be hell, and she knew it.

Gulping, she held on to his sleeve tighter as he pressed his way to the crowd. Almost immediately, she nearly got swallowed by the sheer amount of people who were walking opposite of her. Screaming, she tried to grab on to Okita's sleeve again, only this time, she managed to grab his whole arm, and ended up hugging it with her left arm.

Without looking back, he said, "Hold on." loud enough for her to hear before making his way towards the crowd.

'What have I gotten myself into…?' she thought to herself, wondering if there was some deity out there playing a trick on her by forcing her into these scenarios with Okita.

This was not what she was hoping for to happen today…!

Far from it!

Okita, on the other hand, had nearly jolted at the physical contact. As soon as he heard her scream, he immediately slowed his pace and began backing away. He knew she aimed for his sleeve, but ended up hugging his whole arm. A blush made its way to his face, and, as not to embarrass both of them, he ended up not looking back at her and simply yelled out instructions loud enough for her to hear that he was going to start walking again.

Somehow, the setup was making him feel like…

… they were a couple.

The sandy-haired young man knew he was deluding himself because it was impossible at this point (a guy could dream anyway), but the fact that they were on their own because their friends got separated from them, and her clinging on to him for dear life because of the thick crowd made it feel like they were a couple on a festival date.

It didn't help that a lot of people saw festivals as an excuse to have a romantic date. [4]

The scenario was giving him false hope, but for the meantime, he would simply have to… make the best of it. He would keep his hands to himself, he would walk in a pace that she was be comfortable with, he would bring her to the stall she wanted to be at, and wait for her until she was done, no more, no less.

… Yet it still made him feel like they were on some date.

He clenched his left fist in frustration.

He needed a break. And some time to think.

On her third attempt on the shooting game (she had already won once), Okita was still telling her not to leave.

In fact, he simply stood slightly behind her, clad in his light amber yukata with a black-colored obi with red-colored horizontal stripes tied low around his waist, his arms folded, looking at the way she was shooting her target. She wasn't really that good at shooting games, but she wasn't one to back down from a nice game.

"You're not going to play?" she asked him.

"Not really, no." he shook his head.

She smirked. "No good at it? Then I'll challenge you."

He gave her a confused look. "Are you serious?"

She placed two 500 yen coins on the table of the stall they were in. "Bring it on."

Shrugging, he grabbed the toy gun resting by the counter, and the stall owner handed him a small cup that contained five cork bullets. The targets were around three meters away from them, and though it may look easy to target, the cardboards that named the prizes were hard to knock off the two-layered shelves. Cocking the gun, he placed one cork bullet at the barrel and aimed at one of the cardboards.

After firing, the cardboard that said 'x1 stuffed toy' fell down to the ground.

Kagura looked at him in aghast. While she had had fifteen attempts earlier, the only thing that she won were packets of tissue, as the only thing she had hit was the cardboard that said '1 set pocket tissue'. Angry that he was better at her in this shooting game, she cocked her own gun and fired at the cardboard nearest her.

She'd show him.

In the end, Okita won two stuffed animals, while she won two as well.

It may have been due to her sheer determination to beat him at all costs, all because it did not sit well with her that he would best her again in a game. The crane game was embarrassing enough, as she was unable to do it all on her own, and had to rely on him to get her the stuffed toy that she wanted. It also felt as if she owed him something, and it made her really uncomfortable.

Okita Sougo was the last person she would ever wanted to feel indebted with.

After choosing the stuffed toys that she wanted (two brown-colored dogs for her siblings), the stall owner then asked him what he wanted, and he had chosen a brown-colored cat and a white-colored dog. After placing the stuffed animals inside their respective plastic bags, the stall owned thanked them, and they moved on to the next stall, which was located near the far end of the row. By this time, the crowd had thinned somewhat, but it was still enough to drag her along with them. Frustrated, she ended up grabbing on to his arm again, while he made his way to the far end of the stalls.

"Where to?" he asked her.

"Wherever you want. I'm fine anywhere." The crowd had stressed her out so badly that it was showing. Beads of sweat were running down the sides of her face, and she looked like she wanted to simply give up and go home.

"Let's rest for a while." He told her. "Let's move on to the less crowded side of the festival grounds."

"Okay."

By the time they had reached the less crowded portion of the festival, she was slumping. When he asked her if she had a fan with her to keep herself cool, she shook her head, then cursed out loud. "Damn it, I knew I forgot something."

"Use mine." Before she could say anything, he handed her a black-colored folding fan from his sleeve. To her surprise, he had a drawstring bag hidden inside his yukata sleeve all along. "You thirsty?"

"… A little, yeah." She admitted. She did not tell him that she wanted to eat as well, because the crowd by the food stalls was something she did not want to deal with.

She was tired, thirsty, hungry, and she was disliking the crowded area already.

"Wait here. I'll get drinks." Before she could stop him, off he went to the direction of the food stalls.

Damn it, but today was supposed to be a day out with her good friends.

Why did it feel like a date between her and Okita…!?

To her horror, she felt her face turn red at the thought of them dating. It was a natural reaction, of course, as she had zero romantic interaction with the opposite sex, and the guy was, dare she say it, actually nice to her all throughout the night. It was simply easy to leave her to get led away by the crowd, but he actually backtracked his steps earlier, which lead to her grabbing his whole arm instead of the sleeve, but still…

Vaguely, she wondered if he had some sort of ulterior move in doing this, but when she realized that her mind couldn't think up of one, she felt puzzled.

It all did not add up.

Okita Sougo was one of the guys she couldn't stand, yet somehow, her perception of him was changing.

She did not like it one bit.

Not at all.

There must be something he was planning, and she was going to find out.

Sakata Kagura was so engrossed in her thoughts that she failed to notice a rather sleazy-looking fellow just near her. In an instant, she found herself knocked over by the man, who had grabbed her drawstring bag containing her wallet, her mobile phone, her commuters' pass…

… Her bracelet…

Horrified at the thought of her childhood memento getting lost for good, she tried to get up, but failed, as her legs were shaking unsteadily from a combination of tiredness and anxiety that was working its way into her body.

Her bracelet…!

No!

Before she could stop herself, she felt the tears running down her face.

"Sakata?!" alarmed, she looked up to see Okita staring at her, each of his hands holding one bottle of Ramune soda [5]. "What happened?"

"My bag…" was all she could manage before she started crying and hiccupping at the same time.

While she was bawling her eyes out, Okita Sougo suddenly saw red as soon as he scouted the figure of a man running frantically, holding the brown-colored handle of the familiar red-colored drawstring bag that she had been holding all throughout the festival. With the bottles still in his hand, he ran as fast as he could towards the direction of where the thief was, but unfortunately for him, the man was faster, for he was not dressed in the usual festival attire, as he looked like he had prepared for it.

Angry that, of all people, he had to target Sakata, he raised his right leg and kicked as hard as he could towards the direction of the thief, his right geta sailing away.

Just his luck, the wooden geta had hit the thief squarely at the back of the head, causing him to fall. Grinning to himself, he cautiously made his way towards the thief, who seemed like he had been knocked unconscious. Hastily, just in case the guy woke up, he put on his geta and grabbed the bag using his right pinky finger. By the time he walked back to where Sakata was, she still looked visibly shaken, her eyes were red, but was calmer now, and was talking to the police.

When he reached her side, he gave his statement to the police and gave them instructions as to where the thief was. A salute, and they headed to the direction of the thief.

"Here." He held out the hand holding the handle of her bag.

Immediately, she began crying again, alarming him. "D-damn, I'm crying again. S-sorry…" she wiped her tears with the back of her hand, sniffing. "I-I'm just… relieved… that it's back."

He shook his head, indicating that he understood. "Take a seat. You're turning pale again." He said, gesturing to one of the nearby benches. "Are you hungry?"

"I… I lost my appetite." She admitted. "B-but I'll be okay… I'm just glad it's back." grabbing a tissue from her drawstring bag, she blew her nose.

"I'll get you some water." After setting down the two bottles of Ramune, he went back to the food stall area.

The fact that he had taken back her bag for her…

He had no idea just how grateful she was.

She could have done away with her phone and her commuter pass, as those were easy to replace, but inside her wallet contained the most important thing to her… and it was the very gift that she had received from dad. Gintoki had told her that he had it made for her when she was baby, as he wanted to make sure that if ever someone would think of kidnapping her or if ever they had gotten separated, the authorities would immediately identify her, as her full name was engraved on the silver bracelet, both in romaji and in kanji. She wore it until it got too small for her, but kept it as a memento. It was her father's first ever gift for her, after all, and despite it looking old and worn out now, she treasured it so much.

Bracelet aside…

Slowly, Okita Sougo was becoming a hero in her eyes, and she was dreading every minute of it.

But maybe, just maybe, she could try and take this chance to actually trust him, be friends with him even. He had, after all, put his life in danger for her bag. The thief could have been armed and dangerous, and could have knifed Okita if they had a confrontation, but somehow, he was safe. There was no wound on him, though she noticed that his right foot was slightly dirty (probably from the mud?). Even so, he had gotten back her most prized possession for her, and was even troubling himself to get her drinks when she could barely stand without wobbling from the earlier encounter with the thief. She was scared that he might be back to try and retaliate, but at least the policemen roaming around the area had increased.

Sakata Kagura decided that maybe it was time for him to graduate in the relationship department with her.

He would no longer be 'Okita', but 'Okita-kun'.

That, at least, would imply a bit of closeness, but not to close just yet.

It was still too early for a first-name basis kind of relationship.

"Sakata." He called out to her.

Because she was facing the riverbed, she looked back to see him holding a bottle of water in his left hand, and a plate of takoyaki on the other. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah." She replied, sighing in relief. "Really, I'm okay now. Why don't you sit down?"

He did what she told him, and he let out a sigh. "Here." Okita said, handing her a bottle of water, which she took gratefully.

This was it.

Now or never.

She had to thank him.

"Uhhh… for earlier… I…" her heart was pounding, her hand was shaking, and she tried to calm herself by swallowing. "T-thank you for your help, Sougo."

Realizing that she had just called him by his first name when she had specifically told herself that it was still too early to do so, she began to panic. "O-oh damn, I…! Uh I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine." The coolness in his tone made her stop in her rambling. "Really, it's fine, Sakata."

"B-but…"

"Really, it's fine." He repeated, his eyes still looking straight ahead at the river. Was it her imagination, or were his ears turning red? "Call me whatever you like."

She wasn't going to back out on the name-calling.

She called him by his first-name, and there was no turning back.

"Sougo then." She nodded firmly, wondering what the hell she had just gotten herself into. The turn of events were too much to take in for her, and it puzzled her why he had been so accepting of her calling him by his name.

She waited for him to ask her if he could also call her by her first name.

By the time the fireworks had ended two hours later, he still referred to her as 'Sakata'.

"Where the heck were you guys?!" immediately after the fireworks ended and everyone started heading towards the nearest train station, she found Shinpachi and Soyo standing right behind them.

Shinpachi had the gall to look apologetic. "We lost sight of you so we decided to just hang out around the food stalls." He didn't tell her that he and Soyo had deliberately hid behind the stall areas as soon as his best friend started marching into the crowd.

Their plan to force the two to spend time together in order for them to get along had somehow worked, and he couldn't be more happy, especially since Okita looked content for some reason.

… Not to mention Kagura was still clutching on to a black-colored folding fan that he knew did not belong to her, and was fanning herself.

"You were there all along?! Why didn't you approach us if you did see us?!" she asked them hotly.

Soyo then stepped closer to whisper at her. "… We didn't want to ruin the nice atmosphere between you two." [6] In an instant, Kagura's face turned a bright red.

"T-that's just stupid!" she spluttered.

"I'm rather good at reading the atmosphere, Kagura-chan, and believe me, I really did not want to ruin it by barging on you two." The raven-haired girl whispered again.

"There was no atmosphere between Sougo and me." She blurted out before she could stop herself. Her horrified face mirrored Soyo's delighted one, and despite the denials, Soyo wouldn't hear of it.

The other girl was practically convinced that it was a date that happened.

Shinpachi, on the other hand, asked the other male in the group, "So, how did the festival go for you?"

"Rather good." was Okita's curt reply, and he knew that that was that.

… He'll just have to ask Soyo for more information later through the messaging app.

The festival grounds was a rather long walk from where Shinpachi and Kagura lived, but the long walk was something that they all welcomed, as the breeze felt good despite the humid summer. Soyo had been picked up by more men in black suits, and after waving a goodbye to her friends, the trio made their way back to Shinpachi and Kagura's apartment complex. Okita Sougo insisted on going with them instead of heading straight for the nearby train station, and so, they walked.

On their way back, Okita took this time to ponder on what had just happened.

He knew that her calling him by his given name had been something she had not planned on doing. The old him would've taunted her about it, but this time around, just to show her that he had indeed changed, he gave her a choice to call him either by his last name or by his first name. Damn it, but when she referred to him as 'Sougo' for the second time, he felt his heart race.

He went to the festival to hang out with her, and got more than what he expected, the best part of it would be Sakata calling him by his name.

This was one event in his life that he would never, ever forget, and by far, the best ever festival he had ever been to.

Before he knew it, they had reached the apartment complex, and just when he was about to bid them farewell, Sakata said, "Won't you come up? Mom and dad would probably want to see greet you." At his puzzled look, she pointed at the backside of her yukata, which were a bit dirty. "They also might want to know why my yukata looks like… this."

Shinpachi nodded, knowing what happened to her earlier when his childhood friend told him the whole thing on their way back home. "Good idea. I'll see you guys up as well."

He had nothing better to do anyway, so he might as well stay for a bit. Nodding in affirmation, he braced himself for yet another encounter with the Sakata family.

"I'm home." were the first words she uttered as soon as she opened the door. Immediately, Sadaharu bolted at their direction, first to greet her, whom she had patted on the head. As soon as he sensed that Sougo was right behind her, he jumped up happily at him.

"Welcome home." Tsukuyo said, making her way to the entrance of their home, Kintarou in her arms. "Oh, Okita-kun. Shinpachi. Hello."

"Good evening." Sougo greeted Sakata Tsukuyo, bowing his head at her.

"Tsukuyo-san." Shinpachi said as well, removing his shoes and hugging the lady, who hugged him with one arm. After being released from the hug, Shinpachi then proceeded to poke the baby's arm. "Hey Kintarou. Still awake, huh? It's past your bedtime." The eyeglasses-wearing male chuckled, looking at the clock by the entrance of the door, which read '10:00 PM'.

"They were waiting for their sister to get home, of course." Gintoki said, nodding at the two boys, Kaguya in his arms, who was also wide awake. "Welcome home, Kagura." Upon seeing his daughter looking a bit disheveled, he frowned. "Kagura, what happened to you?"

She sighed. "Let's go to the living room. It's a long story."

It took the girl twenty minutes to explain her side, and by the time she was finish, her father looked so incensed.

"It's fine, dad. Sougo got the bag back for me, and they arrested the thief… it's fine, really." Kagura said.

If the three other people in the room were surprised at her calling the boy she had disliked so vehemently before by his first name, they did not show it. "Well, at least you're safe, and nothing happened to you." Gintoki sighed in relief, shifting his hold of the baby in his arms. To Sougo, he said, "Thank you, Okita-kun. It's a good thing you were there to help her out."

He shook his head. "It was nothing… I just got lucky that my geta hit the thief and knocked him out."

Tsukuyo tried her best to suppress the grin from her face, but failed. "I… see. Either way, we're very thankful that our daughter is safe and got her bag back, thanks to you."

"Please think nothing of it." He shook his head, clearly uncomfortable at being showered praises by her parents. "I hate to be rude, but I think it's time for me to head out… I need to get back to Meguro."

The silver-haired older man stood up. "I can drive you to your house."

Sougo shook his head. "No need, sir. I'll be okay." At Gintoki's doubting look, he insisted, "I'll be okay. My sister and I will be meeting at the station." It was a lie, but he did not want her father to trouble himself. "We'll be going home together."

"Well, if you say so."

He bowed at her parents. "Thank you for letting me stay for a while."

"Anything for the guy who helped out Kagura." Tsukuyo smiled at him.

"I'll show him out." Kagura said, standing up from the couch. "Mom, here are the toys for the twins." She handed her mother a medium-sized plastic bag containing the stuffed animals before following Okita to the door.

As soon as they heard the door slam shut, Tsukuyo let out a huge grin. "… She calls him by his first name now."

"It surprised me too." Shinpachi stated, grinning as well.

Gintoki sighed. "Please don't tell me they're dating, or I might just need to file a restraining order."

"Shush." The blonde lady scolded him. "Be nice."

"… I'll be on my guard then." Kagura's father declared instead. "But I swear, if he hurts her…"

"You'll make him pay?"

Gintoki shook his head. "Pay? No. I'll make sure he suffers." At the evil grin, Tsukuyo shook her head.

"Stand down, White Demon." She said, calling him by his childhood nickname. "Your horns are showing."

The silver-haired father shook his head. "Seriously speaking, I have no doubt he won't hurt her but… Kagura's a different matter altogether."

As the sole parent who raised her for several years, he knew his daughter's shortcomings, which included just how oblivious she could be when it came to romance.

Her childhood had not been kind to her, and she saw boys are friends instead of romantic interests.

He just hoped that Okita Sougo wasn't the type to give up so easily.

By the time they reached the ground floor, Kagura was feeling quite nervous. They had not said anything to one another on their way down, mainly because she herself had yet to process everything that had just happened. It was happening all too fast for her liking, and yet—

"Well anyway, I'm off." he said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Were they walking too fast that they reached the street level already? "See you at school next week, Sakata."

Now was her chance.

Her only chance.

Before she lost all courage to do so, she blurted out, "Kagura."

He looked back at her, clearly surprised. "Huh?"

"Since I call you 'Sougo'… it's just fair that you call me 'Kagura'." Was it just her imagination, or was it just too hot out tonight? "Deal?"

He nodded automatically. "Sure." He said. "See you next week then… Kagura."

She thought he would start walking, but backtracked instead. "I almost forgot." He dug out the familiar white-colored stuffed animal from his plastic bag from earlier. "Here."

"But that's yours." She told him.

"My nephew can live with just one stuffed toy." He said. "Besides, you gave yours to your siblings. It's no Sadaharu, but it's still a white dog…"

She looked so hesitant that he shook his head. "If you don't want it, just give it to one of the twins." Without waiting for her reply, he took her wrist, placed the plush toy on her awaiting palm, turned his back on her, and waved. "Anyway, I'm off. See you around."

As she stared at his retreating back, she shook her head in disbelief. The manipulation he did was as clear as day, and as much as she wanted to give it to either of the twins, no doubt, they would fight over it someday.

For the meantime, she would have to take care the stuffed toy that he gave her until the twins were old enough to share the plush toy.

Slowly, she studied the plush toy. It looked similar to the one that she got from the crane game, but funny enough, the eyebrows of this white stuffed animal were upside, and the dog looked like a cross between annoyed and worried.

Chuckling to herself, she decided to give it a name that suited it.

"Komako it is." She whispered to herself, referring to the lion-dog shrine guardians that she had always been so fascinated with when she was younger. Smiling a bit to herself, she went back up to her family's apartment and found her parents, the twins, and Shinpachi still by the living room.

"Oh, another stuffed toy?" Shinpachi asked.

"Sougo said I should give it to one of the twins, but I think they'll fight over it. For now, I'll take care of it until they're old enough to understand what sharing is." She shrugged, grabbing her phone from her bag. Opening her messaging app, she scrolled through the names and tapped on Okita's name. He had been in her contacts for a while, but never bothered to message him.

Well, there's always a first time, she thought to herself as she began composing her message.

'Thanks for the dog plush toy. It's so cute. ((o(｡ω｡)o))' She tapped the 'send' button.

Minutes later, in came his reply.

'You're welcome. ＼(￢ω￢)┐ Glad you like it.'

Upon reading his reply and seeing the kaomoji that he used [7], she grinned.

At least they were off to a good start… somehow.

She'll just have to learn to trust him.

Notes:

[1] jinbei - traditional Japanese clothing for summer, which consists of a matching top and a pair of shorts. It is made of either hemp or cotton.

[2] going home club - a person who has no school activities after classes end are part of the 'going home club'. In Japanese, they call it 'kitaku-bu' (帰宅部).

[3] Comiket having bad signal - personal experience with this. The loading time of the webpages using my LTE took longer than usual while I was at Comiket.

For this fic, Okita had to reference it in order for Kagura to understand that the area they were in had very bad or low signal, and that it would be very difficult to contact the others.

[4] It didn't help that a lot of people saw festivals as an excuse to have a romantic date. - the ones who usually go to summer festivals are couples because of the lovey-dovey atmosphere of the fireworks.

[5] Ramune soda - carbonated beverage. It's a popular summer drink in Japan.

[6] "We didn't want to ruin the nice atmosphere between you two." - 'atmosphere' here would refer to the fact that for once, Okita and Kagura were getting along, and they didn't want to interrupt it by being the third and fourth wheel.

[7] kaomoji - Japanese version of the emoticon.

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! Till next time!