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Characters: Okita and Hitsugaya
Location: Hitsugaya's apartment
Rating: angstangstangst
Time: February 12th -- shortly after Mitsuba gets settled in.
Description: Kiss and make up. Minus the kissing.

Sougo told his sister he would be back, he was only stepping out for a little while -- and the instant he walked out the door, any strength he had to smile and remain pleasant crumbled away. This whole thing, he didn't know how to digest it. He'd been there to hold his sister's hand as the life slipped away from her back home, as she seemed so resolved and almost satisfied leaving the world. The pain of losing her had still been a relatively fresh wound and it was sliced open once again as she was denied her peaceful ending. Could he handle possibly losing her again in this war?

He didn't know. It was hard to think.

And so he turned to Hitsugaya's door right next to his, twisting the knob and opening it. As soon as the door closed behind himself, he collapsed against it -- appearing as if the life, energy, and very essence of what made him him had been ripped right out. All Sougo had left right now was a fake semblance of composure that manifested itself in a very weak attempt at sheepish humor (because he had just barged into his former partner's home uninvited after being a complete dick to him.)

"Sorry. I don't have anywhere else to go right now. I just need five minutes. Just to clear my head. I won't talk or anything."

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The intrusion into Hitsugaya's room would have been normal a couple weeks ago, but he'd grown used to have the place entirely to himself lately. When the door opened and Sougo pulled himself into the room, Hitsugaya stared at him in the doorway with a certain amount of shock, unable to speak for a moment.

His former partner looked like hell, and he was suddenly in his room. Hitsugaya assumed for a moment that he'd gotten the wrong room after... well, who knew what Sougo was up to these days. He wouldn't put it past Sougo to get drunk and just waltz back into his room mistakenly.

But then he spoke, and the young shinigami was lost for words. Something had happened. He knew his former partner well enough to know that this wasn't drunkenness, but something actually serious. Had Lucy dumped him? Something with Hijikata? Hitsugaya hadn't ever seen that expression on Sougo's face before; he found himself moving to his feet but still standing at a distance from the man who he hadn't spoken to for nearly two weeks.

"...Fine. Sit down, if you want."

Wordlessly, he made his way to the kitchen so Sougo would feel more free to enter the living room. Without waiting for the other captain to move, he put the kettle on the stove for tea.

Sitting down required movement, but he managed it -- stiff and mechanically -- until he reached the chair, dropping his weight into it. Sougo rested his elbows on his knees, netting his fingers together and propping his chin atop them. His eyes were unfocused, staring off into space as his thoughts took hold again. Maybe if he ran with his sister -- somewhere they could be safe, they would escape the war. Maybe he could force Shibusen to put a bodyguard on her at all times just to keep her safe.

Safe.

This very building was far from safe. A few doors down was Kawakami Bansai's apartment. And with Takasugi back from the future, the threat of him doing something to their Shinsengumi was a very real possibility once again. Who better a target than his sweet, innocent sister who wouldn't even know what she was walking into.

Sougo's head slid between his hands and he grasped at his own hair, clenching it as he was hit with a wave of despair. How did he keep her safe when dangers presented themselves no matter where he turned?

His eyes drifted toward the kitchen where his former partner busied himself with preparing the tea. Well one way was to get Hitsugaya back. Having a steady partner, especially one he worked so well with, would be crucial in the long run. It was funny -- a few weeks ago, the worst of his problems was Hitsugaya being used by Gin. Now that seemed so very insignificant.

"I have to...we have to move out. The partner residences. They should be away from that guy," he threw his hands to his knees, unable to sit any longer as he prattled his thoughts aloud. (So much for not talking.) Sougo rose and began to pace, back and forth, hand cupping his chin in thought. "Do you have anything stronger than tea in there?"

Hitsugaya turned his gaze back to Sougo with raised eyebrows, almost alarmed at how out of sorts he was acting. He wanted to make a comment about them being broken up, so why was he saying 'we,' but it seemed petty and unimportant right now. Hitsugaya had pride and was certainly stubborn, but he also had a rational mind and was able to pick his battles. Sometimes it was necessary to bite one's tongue.

He was quiet as the tea brewed and steeped, letting Sougo pace and get his thoughts out. Making his way over to where he stood, Hitsugaya held up a cup of steaming to him and shook his head, "This is all I have."

Sougo could pace if he wanted, but Hitsugaya moved to sit down with his own tea, his voice quiet but still holding a firm command.

"Tell me what's going on."

He took the offered tea because it gave him something to hold and occupy his hands with. He didn't drink it, however. Instead, he idly watched the steam as it billowed upward. After Hitsugaya's demand, it would've been so easy to clam up and say he didn't want to talk about it because he really didn't. It was an uncomfortable subject, after all, and Sougo wasn't really the type to talk out his feelings. But if they were going to be partners again (because Hitsugaya didn't outright refuse!) he supposed the other needed to know the situation since his sister would become a part of both of their lives.

"BREW brought someone I know -- my dead sister," slowly he made his way toward the chair to settle down again, fingers locked around his tea cup. "Our parents died when we were little, and she was all I had to take care of me until I met Kondo-san." From this point forward, his sentences became clipped because it was difficult to put his full thoughts into full sentences and keep his emotions together. "But she's very sick. Frail. I lost her a few months ago. BREW made her better. But I....the war and...Takasugi is...just can't--"

His brows knitted and he took a drink of his tea so that he had an excuse to quit talking. He swallowed it down and forced a smile toward Hitsugaya. "It's good."

He watched Sougo from his seat, the pieces slowly adding up in his mind. Recalling the time that his partner had spend in the hospital, Hitsugaya remembered the first waking moments when Sougo had murmured the word, "Aneue." They had never talked about their pasts, the secrets their lives held before they'd come together here, and suddenly Hitsugaya felt it was something he should have known about.

A chill ran through him as well when Sougo mentioned Takasugi. He'd recently run into the now-older man, different indeed from what Hitsugaya remembered of him. Sougo had hated him for a reason, for something he'd done that made him this way. It wasn't right to ask right now, but he would have to find out what it was sooner or later.

His eyes dropped to his own tea as his meister gave a soft smile to him, thinking on what this meant for them. One thing at a time.

"She needs your protection here, right?" he started in a low voice, "So that's what you have to do. There's no changing that she's here, so you jut have to move forward and keep her safe."

He nodded. These were things he logically knew, but it still hurt him to be blindsided by this -- to have her ripped from her death, and have his own progress with accepting her death be shattered so suddenly. "She was so happy, you know. So resolved to die. She was at peace with it and the life she lived. It just isn't fair..." Sougo's fingers tensed around the cup in his hands. He was mulling over it, brooding even and if he continued to do that, he would never leave his spot in this chair.

"You said it yourself, she needs protection. And I can't do that alone..." he looked over toward Hitsugaya slowly, abandoning all of his pride to ask this question. "Will you do it with me? Be my weapon again? You're the only one that works. The only one I can count on."

Hitsugaya's brow furrowed lightly as he watched Sougo; he'd never seen the man lower his pride that much, which was incredibly telling on how the situation was affecting him. His sister... Hitsugaya didn't want to imagine how jarring it was to have accepted her death and be forced to face her once again.

With a soft sigh, he replied in a calm voice, "I've always been your weapon. Even if we run into troubles, my resolve isn't so easily broken. And I'm resolved to protect you, Okita, and by association your sister."

With that, he gave a long sip of his tea. He was nothing if not loyal, and it was clear to him now that his loyalty always lay with his meister. Somewhere along the line, he'd become convinced to stay by this man, and it wasn't something he'd turn away from now.

It was relieving to hear, and really...Sougo was lucky to have sided with someone like Hitsugaya. The kid was a much better person than he would ever be. And he couldn't help the faint smile that gave way on his typically stoic expression. He took a final sip of the tea, abandoning the rest by leaving it on the table in front of him before rising to his feet. "I have my eye on Death City Heights, building three, room B. It's right next to someone I know from home and who I can trust to keep aneue safe if we were out on a mission or something along those lines."

His attention lifted toward the door. Now that he was in better control of his emotions, he really needed to get back to Mitsuba. "If that's okay with you, I'd like to move out as soon as possible."

He glanced around the room, considering. He'd been in this apartment for almost 3 months, but it never did well to become attached to places or material things. In the end, it was just a room, one he'd been forced to stay in since being abducted here.

"It's fine. It's not as if we have many things," he paused now, looking more at Sougo and raising an eyebrow, "Is your sister alright with this arrangement? She could want to live on her own, you know."

He wasn't able to make a judgement on how he would find living with Sougo's sister until he met her. Part of him wondered if he was just as exhausting as his partner, in which case he might spend a lot of time on the roof, or crashing at Matsumoto and her partner's place.

"No. She wouldn't. If she had her way, she would've come with us all the way to Edo," his fist clenched at the memory and he narrowed his eyes. "That bastard was the reason she had to stay away." And by that bastard, he clearly meant Hijikata. But it was a long, boring story to get into and right now, he didn't have the energy to hate and resent his vice commander enough to tell it. "If anything, she wouldn't feel safe by herself here. She's not a fighter at all and her health would make matters even worse. She needs the protection and she's aware of that."

Sougo offered a weak smile, weak and sad but humor reached his eyes, "Not to mention she's like a mother to me. She'll want to make sure I'm eating and sleeping properly. If anything, you'll benefit too. She can cook the meals and take care of the housecleaning. You two will probably get along."

He just hoped Hitsugaya really liked spicy food....

Hitsugaya had never really had much of a mother-figure, as far he could remember, so the thought of acquiring one was kind of strange. He never liked being doted after, so the thought of someone bustling around, cooking and cleaning, was a little strange to imagine.

"We probably will," he replied though, not about to spoil Sougo's enthusiasm for the idea.

"Let her know then that we can move as soon as you're ready. I'll have my stuff ready to go," he paused a moment, a soft smile touching his lips, "...but you can stay here longer, if you need to."

Sougo nodded after Hitsugaya's words. He knew he could count on him to be prompt with the move. "Probably a little after Valentine's Day. It will give aneue a little time to settle in and get used to the city before she has to deal with the stress of moving."

He appreciated the second offer, though, and while it may have been easier to stick around in Hitsugaya's apartment and avoid facing the reality of his sister really being here, he knew he had to go back. "I'm good. I don't want to worry her by being away too long." He turned his back to Hitsugaya, making his way toward the door only to pause, square his shoulders, stand up straight and pretend that he wasn't actually showing appreciation.

"...thanks."

The smile remained, easier once Sougo wasn't facing him. With a little nod that his meister couldn't see, he responded quietly, "Don't worry about it."

He felt lighter then, without the worry of getting another partner, without the thoughts of his former meister plaguing him. And no matter how terrible this place was to bring back dead relatives, it seemed to have caused a change in Sougo that he didn't mind all that much.

"I'll see you soon."

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Sougo finally gets a smile icon!!

aw yeah 8D

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