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

Chapter 8

But...

"...It's fine."

Mitsuba looks so happy...

~o0o~

After another half-hour at the park, Sougo and (F/N) walked Mitsuba to her fiancé's house. Then, as the sun set in the sky, he decided that, since she was there and her family was probably panicking, he'd walk (F/N) home, as well.

As they walked side-by-side in silence, Sougo thought back to that afternoon. He knew, in hindsight, why (F/N) had concocted that plan. It wasn't just to punish him—though that had certainly been on the agenda. She'd wanted to distract Mitsuba. She'd taken Okita's request more seriously than he'd ever thought she would, and what had he done? Suspect her and poison her with Tabasco.

"Hey," he said, grabbing her hand, "do you mind if we take a little detour?"

She frowned. "What're you gonna do? Mug me in a dark alley?"

"I'm not a common crook! Now come on. If I bring you back after dark, your parents will flay me alive."

He pulled her through the streets until they reached a little shop in a relatively empty part of town. Then he ducked in, leaving her outside to wait.

By some miracle, she was still there when he got back, arms crossed, tapping her foot, ready to throw a kunai at his head at a moment's notice. That's when it really dawned on him what he was about to do.

Well, I already humiliated myself enough with the apples...

"Here."

He thrust a jewelry box in her direction. She made no move to take it, instead looking at it with an expression somewhere between contempt and repulsion.

"It's for you," he prompted, pushing it towards her. "Take it."

"What'll it do when I open it? Blow up?"

"Of course not, it—" He sighed. Might as well go for a record. "I...I saw it once when I was shopping for gifts for my sister and...I thought it would look good on you, so...thank you for today, and also...I'm sorry about the Tabasco thing. You were trying to help me, and that was uncalled for, so...sorry."

He really hadn't wanted to do that. He hadn't wanted to admit he thought about her when she wasn't there. He hadn't wanted to admit he thought about what looked good on her, and he definitely hadn't planned on apologizing to her about anything ever, but there he was, baring his heart to her, and he fully expected her to burst out laughing.

Except she didn't. All she didn't was take the box, and pry it open.

It was a hair stick. Okita didn't know exactly why it reminded him of her. It didn't stand out at all, but perhaps that was the point. It was pretty enough, but also simple—the perfect thing for a ninja who still cared about her appearance. It was also her favorite color, something he was never going to admit he remembered.

(F/N) picked it up, and turned it over in her fingers. He was fully prepared for a snide comment, or a cutting remark, so he was surprised when she smiled, and even more surprised when she raced forward, and threw her arms around him.

"It's so pretty! Thank you, Sou-kun!"

Who is this person?

He pushed her off, struggling to stop the blood from rushing to his cheeks.

"Hey!" he snapped. "What was that for? And just because Mitsuba calls me 'Sou' doesn't mean you have to!"

(F/N) giggled, and that's when he knew he'd failed to hide his blush.

"I just think it's cute!" She looked over his face for a moment, and that innocent smile turned into a smirk.

"Sou-kun! Sou-kun! Sou-kun! Sou-kun!"

"Stop it!"

But it was too late. His cheeks were bright red, and (F/N) was laughing. He'd heard her laugh many times before. It always had a sadistic edge to it, but this was different. This was cheerful, free-flowing, and innocent.

She was actually happy.

Good god, why's her laughter so damn cute?

~o0o~

Good god, why's his blushing face so damn cute?

After an hour-long scolding from her parents about sneaking out and coming home late, (F/N) lay in her room, hugging her pillow and contemplating that super important question.

First of all, she couldn't believe it was that easy to make him blush. All she had to do was hug him and call him 'Sou-kun.' She could easily weaponize that, and it was definitely on her to-do list to call him that in front of Hijikata, but that was not the point. The point was how giddy it made her feel.

While (F/N) had never disliked Sougo—in fact, she rather liked him—she'd never thought the feeling was returned. She'd thought that, at best, he put up with her, and at worst, he despised her, but the events of that evening proved otherwise. He'd thanked her, he'd bought her a present...heck, he'd even apologized! And when she'd hugged him, and smiled at him, and called him a special nickname, he'd turned into a blushing mess.

He actually liked her, and that thought made her way more happy than it should have.

Author's Note: Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please remember to vote! Thanks!

-Marguerite Partello