Trying to Kill Each Other Doesn't Count as Flirting (or Does it?)

Chapter 25

Tracking the Shinsengumi down had taken almost a week of intense searching and spy work, but it had been worth every second, because now she had Okita right where she wanted him—pinned to the wall, a blade to his throat, and she was ready to read him the riot act.

With her free hand, she pulled Kagura's letter out of her pocket, and shoved it in his face.

"What the hell, Sougo?"

His eyes fell on the letter, and he let out a string of curses.

"Damn China...I knew I shouldn't have trusted her..."

"If you knew that, then why did you? Why did you do any of this in the first place?" She crumpled up the letter, and tossed it to the floor. "I'm not a child, you know! You have no right to decide what I can and can't do!"

He didn't respond, and she let out a growl of frustration.

"I don't understand what you're thinking at all! You snapped at me in the park, you asked Kagura-chan of all people to keep me from following you to Kokujo Island...you can't just kiss me and then push me away like nothing happened! Tell me what's going on in that head of yours, or I'll cut it off!"

Still nothing. (F/N) gritted her teeth.

"Okita Sougo, I swear to god—"

"I love you, all right!"

(F/N) froze.

"I love you," he repeated, "so I didn't want you to risk your life helping me clean up my own mess. I love you, so I didn't want you to get hurt again, and most importantly, I've already failed to protect my sister, I've failed to protect the Shogun, I've even failed to protect the Shinsengumi. I wasn't even able to do anything to hurt that monster. I didn't want to see what would happen if I failed to protect you. I didn't want to lose you like I lost everything else."

(F/N) stared at him. That was the reason for everything? That's why he was pushing her away? That idiot was blaming himself for everything? Seriously?

Ever so slowly, a smile crept onto her lips.

"Sougo," she said, drawing the kunai away from his throat. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told you the day we met, so listen well, okay?"

She grabbed two fistfuls of his jacket, and looked him dead in the eye.

"I don't need a bodyguard."

And with that, she kissed him.

It didn't take long for his sword to drop to the floor, and his arms to go around her waist, pulling her into his chest. Her arms went around his neck, and she tugged experimentally on his hair. He made a small noise, and she cracked a smile, only to be startled when he took the opportunity to slip his tongue past her lips.

Several minutes later, they drew apart, red and panting, and (F/N) shot him a glare.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" she muttered. "An absolute idiot, but you know what? I'm absolutely head over heels in love with you."

For a moment, he looked honestly surprised, but it passed quickly, and before she knew it, their positions were reversed, and he was pinning her to the wall, leaning forward until his lips brushed against her ear.

"You know," he whispered, "I have my own room here. What do you say we pick up where we left off that day on the ship?"

"I'd say 'absolutely, why didn't you ask me that sooner?'"

Before they could get anywhere, however, a chorus of hushed whispers reached (F/N)'s ears. She glanced to the side, just in time to see a whole army of Shinsengumi officers tumble out from around the corner.

"Don't mind us!" Kondo shouted as he tried to scoot out from under Saitou. "Carry on! We're just happy our little Sougo finally found a suitable girlfriend! That's all!"

"Don't put words in our mouths!" Hijikata snapped. "I was just waiting for the right moment to yell at them for getting me involved in their stupid lover's spat!"

"I—I was just doing my duty as an investigator!" Yamazaki insisted. "You can't blame me for that, right?"

(F/N) slowly raised a kunai.

"I say let's kill the witnesses."

Okita picked up his sword. "I agree."

"W—wait!" Kondo screamed. "You can't kill me! I haven't even gotten to marry Otae-san yet! Wait!"

In the end, all that was left in the Shinsengumi hideout was a bunch of bleeding officers, and one very happy couple.

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I'm afraid this will be the last chapter, but I have many new projects in the works, and I hope at least one of them will be ready to post within the next month. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you so much for reading, and I promise I'll be back with a new story as soon as possible!

-Marguerite Partello