3.

"We had that medical examination not so long ago, and –"




"Wait," you interrupted. "What about Chizuru-chan. She's a girl after all!"




"She got special permission to not to take part. Anyway, I told you about that new guy, Itou?" you nodded and took a bite of takoyaki. "He got so upset about it, because he had to strip."




"Huh? That made him upset so much?"




"Yep."




You've never met that Itou guy. From what you heard from Okita, he wasn't exactly most liked within the Shinsengumi. Okita hated this guy's guts, but since Kondou trusted him, they couldn't do anything.




"He's just an asshole. I'd gladly kill him," Okita said frowning.




"But you can't, so don't even start considering it," you huffed.




You hated when he was throwing threats around. You were sure he was capable of doing it, but still it didn't mean you accepted it easily. You closed your eyes. You two were sitting on a porch of your home. He had free time and decided to come by. Surprisingly, he took also dango with him. He hardly ever did. Okita mostly ate what you made for your bakery. To be honest, your bakery was more like sweet's shop. You still insisted on calling it bakery though. Weather was getting worse and you wouldn't be surprised if it started raining soon. You breathed in cool air.




You felt somebody taking your hand. You opened your eyes to find Okita's face close to you. He ate remaining dango and now was grinning devilishly at you. Your face went scarlet red and you scolded yourself for letting him surprise you. Nonetheless you were frozen to a spot as you looked into his eyes. They held amusement and some other feeling you couldn't quite put a finger on.




"S-souji-san?"




"What is it, _____? Perhaps you have fever?" he teased, fully knowing what was cause of your blush. He put a hand on your forehead while pinning your other hand to the porch. "Hmm~."




"I-I don't! I don't! Geez~~~!" You turned your face away. "Stop teasing, Souji-san!"




"Are you sure?" he asked coming closer.




"Yes I am! Now, why did you ate my dango?" you glared at him.




"I didn't want it to be wasted."




"Wasted? I was going to eat it. Such a meanie!" you pouted hiding behind kimono sleeve, still a little pink. It was better to change topic, you decided. Now he was laughing at you.




"So, how your medical examination went?" you asked when you both calmed down. He stopped laughing and you weren't blushing anymore.




"Can't you see, _____? I'm in perfect health," he sent you wry smile.




You frowned at him. Usually you couldn't care less about his mean jokes or teasing. This time something felt wrong. Smile, he held now as he looked away from you, was unsettling. Come to think of it, Okita often said one thing and meant the other. So what if-?




"Stop worrying. I'm fine," he said when you went silent. You pursed your lips still not believing him. "Here, take more dango. You wanted more before."




"Yeah, thanks."




"Be careful, you might get fat~.




"Urgh!"




Nonetheless it was quite peaceful afternoon. Well, as peaceful as it could be with Okita Souji around. You talked about various topics, with teasing here and there, some laughs and smiles. . You looked at him and noticed his messed hair swaying on the wind. You stood up and reached to your casket for a comb.





"Here, let me fix it~," you smiled waving comb in front of his face. He smirked and let you pull on the ribbon that held his hair up. You hummed combing his hair.





"Hey, _____, will you let me comb your hair?"





"No way. Last time I let you, I felt as if I lost half of my hair," you said running comb through his brown locks.





"Aren't you unfair?" he looked up at you.





"Nope," you hummed while you did his usual up-do. "Done!"





"My turn~!" he didn't leave you place to complain. He took the comb and let your hair down. You glared at him but let him do this anyway. You didn't want to admit this, but it felt actually nice. He was surprisingly gentle. With pink dusting your cheeks you let him run fingers through your hair. You enjoyed the sensation that it left. You leaned on your elbows and smiled.






You heard knocking. You wondered who could it be, since today bakery was closed. You voiced your thoughts aloud and went to the front door. Okita lazily followed you with his gaze.




"Yes?" you asked opening front doors. Before you stood man in his late twenties, clad in blue haori you knew so well.




"Sorry for intruding. Is captain Okita here?" you blinked and glanced at the porch.




"Uh..." you weren't sure what to say. Then you felt broad chest behind you as Okita leaned to open the doors.




The man looked between you two.




"What is it, Wakahisa?" Okita asked.




"C-commander Hijikata asked me to fetch you to the headquarters," man called Wakahisa replied. You looked up to Okita in silent question, how in the world this man knew where to find him.




"How did you know I was there? Hijikata told you?"




"Yes, sir."




Okita breathed and looked back at you. You nodded and moved away to let him out. Next time you will ask him some questions on what exactly the Shinsengumi knew about you. You couldn't help but wonder, how come it was so obvious that Okita would be found at your home. Though it made you slightly happy inside.




"Ah, wait!" you called after him. You went into the house and rummaged through your chest with clothes. When you found what you needed you rushed back to the front door. Okita was standing there with a lazy grin on his face.




You wrapped the scarf around his neck, much to his total surprise.




"Here," you brought him closer so only he could hear you. "Take this, it's getting colder day by day. Plus, frankly speaking I don't believe a word you said about your medical examination."




He stood wide eyed for a moment till he brought his hand and ruffled your hair.




"Thanks, _____," he smiled with unusual for him gentleness. You stood mesmerized looking into his now soft eyes. "See you around."




With a blink of an eye he was away from you, walking down the street. Wakahisa, red faced, bowed to you and run after his captain. You let out the breath you didn't know you were holding.




"See you around," you smiled even though you were sure he wouldn't hear you by now. With a last glance you closed the doors and went inside.




You were cleaning your porch when you noticed blue haori laying on wooden desks. It must be Souji-san's, you thought, he must have forgotten. With a sudden urge you put on the haori. It was considerably bigger, since Okita was much taller than you. You hugged the haori to yourself. It made you feel secure. Perhaps, because it was his belonging. With him you always felt safe. Even then when he threatened to kill you if you spilled some secrets. Nonetheless, you knew that he is somewhere, that he could always help you. And you always welcomed him – even if he stole your sweets, or made mean remarks.




"Ah~ ... I'll give it back next time."






~~*~~
A/N: Hello~! Another, kinda peaceful chapter, but hope you liked it :)
Please comment and let me know what you think! ^^



Comment