Gintama: Yato Queen

32 | Sweet and Spicy

<Kagura>
I did my best to explain how I ended up staying for supper at their place. Obviously, it was my real intentions to barge in but things just happened before I could even comprehend any of it.

Waiting around in Okita's room, I sat on the floor and inspected his room. Strangely enough, it was normal. His textbooks were organized on his black shelf and his bed was navy with gray. Nothing stood out at first glance. Unless he was one of those male students with porno magazines under the bed?

"Want something to drink?" He asked.

"No, I'm good." I spoke and shifted my body to look under the bed. Before I could see anything, his shadow devoured me and I glanced up to see him watching.

"Can I help you?" He raised a brow.

"Ahah, it's nothing." I gradually sat back up straight and sighed. When he's not looking, I will try again.

Okita sat down across from me while leaning against his closet. He brushed his hair back with his hand and he didn't look too happy about my presence.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"You can always leave you know? Just because my older sister pressured you doesn't mean she'll think lowly of you for sneaking out at this rate." He explained.

"I did just meet Shin-Chan's older sister recently, it will be a good opportunity to get to know your sister too." I shook my head, "I think your sister is just worried about you."

"She always is." He replied, "I wish she could just think about herself for once." Okita glanced at his phone and I could tell by his arching eyebrows that he was annoyed.

"So why did you show up with him?" He brought up.

"It was a coincidence! I was even surprised myself because I thought that you guys-." I stopped short and watched his expression changing. "I heard that he's close to your family."

"Was." He shortly replied as if the taste came off bitter in his mouth. "I don't know he keeps associating himself with us when he's the one who decided to leave."

For some reason, I wanted to know more. Who is this guy in front of me, why does he act the way he does, why are people so afraid of him? I want to know his story.
However, I don't know why this thought kept circulating in my mind. Should I really care about his secrets when it's difficult for me to spill my own?

Our relationship was unique. It's not normal, even if you look at it from an outside perspective. We're affiliated with Yakuzas, we've lost people we've cared about, and we're always struggling in our own ways.

Whenever I talked to Okita about personal stuff, I felt like I wasn't fighting this battle alone.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?" He crosses his arms with that usual face of indifference.

"Could you tell me about your relationship with Hijikata-Sensei?" I asked.

Okita looked at me and that's when we heard a knock on the door. The both of us sat quietly and waited.

"Supper's ready." Hijikata-Sensei's voice appeared and Okita stood up first without saying anything back to him. Instead, he just pounded his first on the door and that startled me.

"Ask me again on a later date." He said while placing his hands in his pockets. "Maybe you can figure it out when we're eating."

"Sure..." I responded while getting up from the ground as he opened the door.

As we both walked downstairs, Hijikata-Sensei just sat down himself. Okita's older sister was quietly waiting with a gleam on her face.

I took the seat across from her and Okita sat next to me. Again, there was no words being exchanged and it felt awkward as hell.

"The food looks great." I managed to say. Looking down in front of me, I saw that my bowl of rice had a larger portion than everyone else's.

"You seem like a girl who eats a lot despite how small your build is." She conveyed, "don't be shy and enjoy."

"T-thanks." I acknowledged her kindness and looked over at Okita who shrugged. He was the one who started eating first.

I picked up my chopsticks and reached for some grilled fish in front of me. That was when Okita's older sister started dousing her rice with red hot chili sauce. Simultaneously, Hijikata-Sensei was pouring mad loads of mayonnaise into his bowl.

What the fuck is going on here?

"If it makes it easier, you can call me Mi-Chan, that's what my friends call me. Anyways, How is school Kagura-Chan?" Mitsuba asked, "I heard from Sou-Chan that it's around the corner."

"Alright Mi-Chan and I think I'll be fine." I answered, "I've been reviewing this week so I think it will be a breeze."

When I said that, Hijikata-Sensei glanced up and took a sip of his water.

"Don't underestimate the exams." He spoke. "A lot of good students like yourself get lazy during finals and end up bombing them."

"I'll take note of that." I awkwardly smiled. "You're class is quite difficult itself." I tried to get in his good side or whatever side he was willing to show.

"Of course. It's good to challenge students." He spoke, "or they're wouldn't be a reason at all."

"Right..." I answered and in the corner of my wyes, I saw Okita making a harsh expression. It was like he wanted to blurt out what was on his own mind but knew he would ruin the mood if he did.

"But I have high expectations for you." Hijikata-Sensei added.

"It's not everyday to be praised by Toshiro-San." Mi-Chan lightly giggled from his comment and his face burned red.

"I'm done eating." Okita stood up and looking at his plate, he barely ate anything. "Thanks for the notebook." He slightly kicked my leg and walked off.

"Sorry." Hijikata-Sensei apologized to Mi-Chan, "I knew if I stayed something like this would happen."

"Sou-Chan just has trouble opening up, even if you've always had a rough relationship with him. Don't worry, it won't last forever Toshiro-San. Please eat up." She assured as she picked up a slice of pork and laid it in his bowl of rice. She even did the same for me.

"I'll bring Sou-Chan something later. For now, lets continue to enjoy." Mi-Chan wore a mask and both Hijikata-Sensei and I could tell.

Something unsettling made my stomach hurt and I placed my chopsticks down. I bet Okita always tells her older sister that he's fine, but she doesn't seem convinced herself.

"He's a good kid." I said aloud, "like you said before Mi-Chan, I'll look over him and keep you updated when he's at school." I smiled.

"Thank you Kagura-Chan, that makes me really happy. Sorry for burdening you." She dipped her head toward.

There was even a slight grin coming from Hijikata-Sensei but he didn't say anything himself. In any case, I couldn't really tell what's up between those two guys but it's not like I should pry anyways.

I put those thoughts behind me for now and continued to eat. One thing for sure is that Mi-Chan is a far better cook that Tae-Chan.