Chapter Text
He came frequently to the Yorozuya Cafe shop, bringing a different girl every time he did come.
Except for the last few visits he brought the same girl over and over again for a good two months. She was a pretty girl, probably a couple of years older than Kagura. She sported long, dark blue hair and vacant crimson eyes, completely different from all the perky and girlish girls he had brought before.
She actually hadn't seen him in a while, two weeks or so- not that she was waiting for him to come. Maybe it was slightly boring without his weekly break up routines though.
“Kagura, get your lazy butt off the chair and go work the register!” Gin slapped the back of her head with a towel before he went into the back.
Kagura bared her teeth at him; as if he did anything. He usually dumped all the work onto Shinpachi and herself while he just went into the break room and picked his nose or something. She was surprised that he stuck with the 'cafe' route, since they usually changed shop themes frequently. The cafe was the only idea that lasted for more than a month. The clothing shop idea lasted for a sad excuse of a week, the casino was a big flop on the first day, and she didn't want to get started on his attempt to fish in money by trying to open a Yorozuya Hospital.
Kagura knew Shinpachi and Gin were going to be out of service today, since it was their most 'dreaded' day; Valentines Day. Every year all they did was mope and look even more pathetic about being single than usual, not that it bothered her. She thrived on their pathetic attitudes during work because she was able to slack off just a bit, more so than usual.
“Here's your Mayo Creamed Coffee, Toshi.” Kagura struggled to keep her face impassive as she handed it to the officer. Everyone knew Hijikata probably had the most absurd preferences for taste ever, but no one was going to go against the Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi police force. A thornless red rose was perched on top of his drink.
“Don't 'Toshi' me,” he grunted back as he glanced behind the counter, “what's up with the atmosphere in here? It's suffocating...”
“Blame the pathetic singles over there,” Kagura jabbed a thumb behind her, towards the break room.
The walkie-talkie on his hip blared up with sound; mostly static than comprehensible words. Kagura had no idea how anyone could understand when speaking through those.
“If they keep that up, they'll be single forever,” Hijikata took out a small box. “Don't look so glum kid, share it with the rest of your sad coworkers.” He tossed Kagura a small, pink box wrapped with a red ribbon.
Kagura's eyes lit up as she held the box delicately, as if it were a baby rabbit. “Thanks, Toshi!”
He raised up his hand in response before walking out the door. “It's one of the finer sweets, don't waste it.”
“Here, chocolate.” Kagura threw it at Shinpachi, who grabbed it so eagerly that it made her feel disgusted all over again.
Gin stared at the box as if Satan himself had come to visit them. “...Who gave this to you...” He gingerly picked up the box by the ribbon.
“Toshi did, you're lucky to even get any today.”
Gin ripped open the box and took a ball of white chocolate out. “'Pachi boy, you try it first.”
“Really?” Shinpachi looked at Gin with gratefulness as he placed it into his mouth. His serene look turned sour immediately as he sputtered it out, half choking on his spit and the other half on betrayal. A string of curses left his mouth as he washed out his mouth while Gin had to refrain him from pouring boiling hot water down his throat.
Kagura stifled a laugh as she backed out the door cautiously.
“I knew it...” Gin looked down at the 'chocolate' in raw fear, “it's made out of mayonnaise.”
She left them to their demise as she went back to the cash register, a line was already starting to form and she was only gone for two minutes.
They hardly got any customers and the only reason why they had so much today was probably because of Otae's idea; giving out a rose with each purchase for today. Conveniently, the roses came from Otae's garden, so it didn't cost them a penny.
“What would you like to order?” Kagura continued to poke at the cash register.
“Spicy Peppermint Coffee, extra spicy.” Kagura looked up and took him, his presence, all at once. “And what do you think is the best drink?”
Kagura tore her gaze away from him and looked back down at the register. “Pickled Seaweed Explosion,” she responded immediately without hesitation. A warm sensation prickled up her neck and her chest filled up with- well, it was definitely something, but she couldn't pin point the exact feeling. It was pleasant and it hummed in her chest.
“Huh, one of those 'healthy' drinks.” He retorted back with a slight look of disgust on his face.
She refrained from sticking out her tongue at him and sighed through her teeth. “That'll be $4.95.”
“I'm buying that gross drink too, just so you know.”
Kagura glared up at him. “What? You're going to drink something you hate?”
He looked at her plainly. “No, it's for you.”
Kagura narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously as he handed her $10. Well, she wasn't going to pass up on her favorite drink being bought for her.
But he had no reason to buy a drink for her, let alone act like they knew each other. He came so often she didn't even ask for his name anymore, and when they passed by each other out of her work they'd nod at each other. It certainly wasn't something that anyone should buy a drink over for.
“What terrible service, aren't you going to ask for my name?” His eyes followed Kagura as she began making the drink. Shinpachi replaced her begrudgingly at the register as they switched spots.
“It's not Soichiro?” Kagura asked innocently, “or maybe it was Soda?” She knew it was Sougo, but it didn't hurt to tease him a bit. She didn't wait for him to respond as she stuck out three different colored roses at him. “Choose one, it's on the house today.”
His eyes lingered on the red rose for longer than necessary. She was sure he would've chosen that one for his girlfriend, but his words were different form his actions. “Pink.”
An insult was at the tip of her tongue, but she handed it to him wordlessly.
“Gin-chan!” Kagura waved him over as he finally came out of the break room. He walked over to her in a painfully slowly manner, she was about ready to kick him to the curb. “It's your turn, don't drown the drinks in your tears.”
She grabbed the two drinks and walked over to the small table that Sougo sat at.
“This isn't some hostess club, Kagura!” Gin shouted at her through the noise as he watched her sit across from him. She pulled her middle finger out at him before handing Sougo his drink.
“Where's your girlfriend?” she asked nonchalantly as she took a small sip out of her drink. Gin had told her to act proper at work if they wanted money, so she was more than willing to oblige; obviously she still had to work on being polite, the middle finger wasn't going anywhere anytime soon though. And normally she'd be downing the drink in less than a minute.
“What, are you keeping tabs on me or something?” he scoffed as he drank the drink in big gulps.
“You come here every week, or well used to. Did you finally get karma after breaking all of those sad girl's hearts?”
He was silent as he looked down at his drink with obvious fake interest.
He ran his thumb over his perfectly spelled name.
Kagura groaned as the silence ensued. She threw her head back and looked at him with disgust. “Don't look like that it's gross.” She waved her finger at him like an old lady scolding children, “There's no point in moping about it. We all know you're the 'get up and move on' type of pla- uh I mean guy so it's disgusting to see you all heartbroken.”
His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he looked up at her. “What are you talking about, kid?” He looked down at her condescendingly as he straightened his back, “a pipsqueak like you should be playing around in the dirt and washing your grandmother's back.”
“Watch your trap, punk chihuahua. I'm a full grown woman.”
“I dunno about that-” his eyes trailed down from her face.
Kagura poked for his eyes with her two fingers viciously. “If you're gonna use those eyes, i'd use them sparingly.”
“I wouldn't limit them when they can move so freely,” he stated, her fingers just mere millimeters from his precious eyes. He held her wrist tightly until she snatched them back.
Kagura gulped down the rest of her drink in three big slurps. “I hope your eyes burn in hell.” She stood up and tossed her cup into the trash. “Enjoy your sad and depressing Valentines day by yourself.”
He usually gave his smiles sparingly, but she was certain the corners of his mouth tilted up.
“Here, a gift for you for entertaining me,” He placed the pink rose in the pocket of her shirt. “Unlike you, I have a date with another three girls after this. You probably wont get a gift this year, so I'll take pity on your sorry self.”
Kagura watched his back as he exited the shop, his hands in his pockets, his back a little bit straighter than before.
"If he comes back I'm gonna spit in his drink.”