Chapter Text
"Kagura," Umibozu falls to his knees, pushing his head against the floor. The strained voice he uses brings Kagura back to when her mother passed away, when each one of his sentences was tainted with the same tone. Unlike back then, Kagura has no pity for her father now. "Please, try to understand"
"You can leave" she says, making sure to deliver the line as coldly as she can, keeping her face stoic. She turns on her heel to walk away, but her begging father is quick to grab her ankle "Please, Kagura! I already lost Kamui, I can't lose you too!"
"Then don't go around selling your daughter off, yes!" she snaps, then tries to shake him off her leg. Umibozu curls on the pavement, silently whimpering to himself while Kagura storms off, and as she sits down on the couch, Gintoki asks "What will you do now?"
"What will I do? Simple. I will kill him, then kill the idiot prince I'm supposed to marry, then I'll live far away. What else can I do?" It is nice to feel the tiniest spark of pride blooming inside of her when she hears the sound of Umibozu desperately crying on the floor of the other room.
"Kagura..." Gintoki mutters helplessly, but whatever he wanted to add doesn't come through anyway; it is cut off by someone opening the front door. Judging from the rustling of plastic, it must be Shinpachi coming with the groceries. As soon as he's in the living room, with the look of someone who is dying to know what's going on, he asks "What happened to the great Umibozu crying in our hallway?!"
"Apparently, even his daughter hates him now" Gintoki jokes, and that only makes Umibozu cry louder. Shinpachi, though, is not satisfied with jokes. He turns to Kagura, busy chewing on her sukonbu, to try and get more information out of this situation. Kagura doesn't blame him. She can't decide if this whole mess sounds weirder with context, or without context. "Kagura-chan?" he demands.
She sighs "He made a stupid mistake on a planet. The prince of said planet wanted to kill him, so the coward decided to give me away as a bride to be spared.". When she says it out loud, it sounds so pathetic. Maybe because it is so pathetic, she thinks. I can't believe this is my life.
"Kagura-chan!" Umibozu is quick at scrambling to his feet, running to the living room to intervene and save whatever is left of his dignity. "Every person on that planet wanted my head! What could I have done?" he justifies himself.
"What you do best," Kagura starts, and even if she is unsure whether to say it or not, she decides her father is not getting bullied enough for his stupid decisions. She shoots him a deadly side glance and continues "run away."
He's not stupid, he knows that Kagura is referring to his tendency to shy away from his problems. For this reason, it gets the reaction Kagura wanted: Umibozu looks like he's in such distress it almost makes her feel bad. He breaks into another fit of desperate sobs as he bangs his head on the floor. No matter what his reaction is, Kagura can't believe the strongest alien hunter in the entire universe could not keep up with these aliens. Are they really that strong? Or is her father just a coward?
"U-Umibozu-san! Calm down please! I-it's not as bad as it sounds, right, Kagura-chan?"
"No, it isn't. Actually, it sounds so ideal! I'm just 18, with my whole life ahead of me, and my father just decided to marry me off to some stranger! It doesn't sound that bad, right?" she says with ironic tone, while Shinpachi can only avert his eyes as he presses his lips against each other. It's evident he realises there's no way to soften the situation, and as much as Kagura loves him, for now she just needs him to shut up.
"Pattsuan, shut up" Gintoki probably reads the room as he always does, and for once, he says something that is not completely useless. Shinpachi soon gives up, and silently takes a seat.
The room is now quiet. Umibozu keeps sniffing and sobbing on the floor as if he was the victim, Gintoki keeps his lazy eyes unfocused somewhere as he thinks and thinks, while Kagura's whole life passes in front of her eyes. A life someone else decided for her. A life she doesn't want. What will her future look like? Will she be well looked after, or will her husband mistreat her? Will she be able to visit Earth once in a while, or will she be forbidden to leave the planet? She doesn't know, and the hole the unknown leaves makes her skin crawl. She has no idea how she managed to not cry a single tear until now, she realises as she notices the tears gathering in her eyes. And it's so hard to keep them from falling down her cheek.
"I can't believe there is nothing we can do to make him change his mind..." Shinpachi mutters, equally distraught. However, that seems to awaken Umibozu. He stands up, abruptly, getting all the attention. He looks like he remembered something, something very important. He faces Kagura, and amidst his tears, he announces "I-in reality, he says that if you're already taken, and if you're going to get married soon, he will leave you alone! He says these are morals he doesn't want to go against"
"That's good!" Shinpachi exclaims excitedly, seemingly having regained his energy. He stands up, giving Kagura a reassuring smile "we just need to find someone that is willing to marry you, Kagura-chan!"
A whole minute of silence passes by. No one talks. No one dares to say anything.
Except for Gintoki: "You say that as if it was easy". Thankfully, he's fast enough to dodge the bullet Kagura fires with her umbrella as she shoots him a deadly glare "Do you have a death wish, Gin-chan?"
Though, as unfunny as the joke is, Kagura knows he's right.
It's not like Kagura doesn't want to help her father. He's the only parent she has, and she would go all the way to keep him in her life. She can search for a solution wherever she goes, but deep down, she won't deny that if marrying a stranger is the only way to keep her father alive, she'll do it.
That evening, when the sun is setting and the town prepares for the night, Kagura leaves the Yorozuya. She tells her family she has to take a walk to clear her mind, even if it feels like a desperate attempt at momentarily shutting out her problems.
She starts wandering. Streets are filling up with the constant chatter of the night crowd, bars are bustling with life and laughter, and everywhere Kagura goes, she envies how carefree people look. She wishes she was in one of these bars instead: laughing the night away, mocking Gin-chan's drunk habits and enduring hours of Shinpachi's horrible karaoke singing. She wonders if those nights will ever come back to her once she's married, and if her life will ever be the same.
Probably not, she tells herself, I'd better prepare for the worst.
Her mind goes blank as she overthinks. She lets her body lead the way, turning corners and crossing hallways, until she reaches the bridge. It's her favourite spot in the whole town, she's always there when she's struggling with her life for whatever reason. It helps her to think, to soothe herself. The water rushing under her feet is loud in her ears, but calm at the same time—its constant sound makes up for the oppressive silence surrounding this specific area of the city which, unlike kabuki-cho's center, seems frozen in time. No one wanders around these streets, it seems, and she realizes she likes the feeling of being here, on this bridge, alone. She watches the reflection of the stars in the crystal waters of the stream, and it's an odd feeling. She doesn't know why, but it brings tears to her eyes.
Let's be honest, she thinks as she bites on her lip, I do know why I'm crying.
She hates that she's feeling helpless. Shinpachi had smiled so brightly when he came to know there could be a way to save Kagura. "Let's just find someone who will marry you" he had said, but who? All of her friends are her age, she doubts an 18-year-old would agree to marry her. When she said that to Shinpachi, his face dropped again. Almost as if he was reluctant to say what he was thinking, he whispered "Kagura-chan, I would marry you. But we will have to divorce right after, and then..." he trailed off, but Kagura knew. She knew he would do anything to save her, and that if she hadn't turned him down, he would have put the consequences aside and married her. As selfless as Kagura is, she couldn't stand the idea of forcing him into a mess he didn't create. She knows all too well that, if you're a divorcee, it will be hard to find love after. People are so judgy for no reason, this society is so strict when it comes to these things. Considering that Shinpachi's dating life is already as complex as it is, she doesn't want to interfere. So no, she isn't going to marry him, or anyone else in her life. She simply refuses to be a burden.
All she can do is cry. Just let it out. She soon comes to the conclusion that she can't do anything else. It physically pains her, and every tear she sheds makes her feel so vulnerable.
It's not until she turns her head to the side that she notices a black, tall figure standing way too close. She might be desperately crying, but her reflexes are always at their sharpest. In a swift motion, she swings her umbrella to the side, aiming to eliminate the threat.
"Oi," the person says, and the tone is too familiar. She tries to calm down, takes her time to blink her tears away until her sight clears up. When it does, she lets out a huge breath of relief, dropping her weapon. "threatening the police? I might have to arrest you for real this time, china"
"Ugh, cut it, you fool", Kagura grits her teeth as she rolls her eyes to the sky, not wanting to put up with his enraging smirk. Not this time. She turns her face side-ways, hoping he hasn't noticed the tears flowing down her cheeks "I don't have time to deal with you".
Surprisingly enough, he keeps his mouth shut, for whatever reason. Be it that he saw the look on her face or not, Kagura doesn't really care as long as he doesn't complicate her life. However, he settles next to her, pushing his frame over the wooden railing, imitating her. How strange.
Neither of them speak. Kagura doesn't have anything to say, or to explain, anyway. She's completely clueless as to why he stays by her side. Is he plotting her demise? Or is he genuinely concerned, having seen the state she is in? As if, she mentally laughs to herself, he would never be.
Yet, to her shock, the sadist does the one thing she didn't expect: he asks "Why are you crying, anyway? Your ugly face is obstructing the way to my patrol"
"I have nothing to do with your impossibility to do your job, yes"
"You didn't answer my question"
"Why would I—" she jerks her head to face him, finding out he is already looking at her dead in the eye. No emotion flickers through his red wine irises, and it catches her off-guard. Through his unwavering glare, he pressures her to answer, but Kagura doesn't see any point in telling him. The sadist, out of all the people she knows. He just happens to be here, and happens to have asked. That doesn't mean she owes him an explanation. She is unsure of what he could do with the piece of information he might get from her, but she does consider the option of blowing off some steam. Just because.
"Why would I tell you anyway..." she mumbles, averting her eyes to the ground.
He shifts next to her "Who knows. Maybe I have a solution for your problems?"
That forces a genuine laugh—albeit a broken one—out of Kagura. He catches her off guard, and when he notices, he feigns the hurt in his tone when he asks "what are you laughing at? I'm just trying to be nice here, china. You're hurting this poor officer's heart, y'know"
"You? being nice?" she lifts an eyebrow, her tone laced with irony as she shoots him an appraising glance "You sure are".
He smirks, not teasing, almost...amused. And Kagura hates the atmosphere that's created around them. It makes her want to give in and tell him everything, just to add some more ridiculousness to the situation.
Then it happens. She decides she has nothing to lose, anyway. She tells him: "I'm getting married"
The way his face drops, and the way it's so subtle, is so intresting. She has to bite her lip to hold in her laugh.
"Congratulations?" he asks, but Kagura can see the confusion in his apparently stoic gaze. She imagines leaving him at that, just at that sentence, just to drive him crazy. No further details. Unfortunately, he's the one pushing out more information.
"Who's the unlucky one?"
"Shut up," she lightly hits him on the shoulder, watching him grin at the way her lips stretch into a smile, all because of his pathetic mockery.
"It's...uhhh, a prince. A prince from a planet" Kagura finally gives in, and as she casually announces her soon-to-be husband, Sougo seems to be drawn to her words. He instinctively leans in closer to her, listening to her faltering words. And even if he looks so lost, he makes sure to listen to all of it. Kagura further explains, seeing how eager he seems to be "Basically....my dad promised me to him. And I'm supposed to marry him"
"And you just let him give you to a guy you've never met?" he blurts out, fixing his jaw. Almost as if he was slightly irritated, but that must be just Kagura's imagination.
"He wanted to kill papi because he made a mistake," she reluctantly adds, tilting her head in the direction of the water to avoid his judging eyes. In front of him, Kagura wants to defend her dad. It's only okay if only she stays mad at him.
"So he's selling you," he finishes for her, a little too precisely for her taste. A little too bitterly.
"Don't put it that way–" she complains, only to be cut off by his words as he thinks out loud "If i were a father, I wouldn't do this"
She suddenly whips her head in his direction, narrowing her eyes at his insinuation. He catches her glare, not afraid of matching the fierceness of her look. Anyone else would have traced the implications behind her look, but no, not him. Or maybe he has, he just doesn't want to play along.
"But you are not." she reminds him, spelling out every word.
"He just wants to live," she then adds, or better, reminds herself. He's only... "human", after all. and if marrying a total stranger is the price to pay to keep her dad alive, then she's willing to pay the whole amount.
"So there's no way to talk the prince out of his decision, is there?"
"Well....he says that if I'm engaged, and about to get married soon, he will back out of the deal"
"And...?"
She looks at him "I'm not".