Work Text:
Locked up
An OkiKagu fanfic set in the Ginpachi-sensei universe
Kagura was non-challantly walking the path towards the school yard. A very simple piece of instruction: take the set of volleyballs to the shed before lessons finish. Professor Matsudaira usually requested such tasks, and although she wasn’t incredibly happy about having an extra chore, she appreciated getting the last 5 minutes off - in which the teacher usually asked everyone to take one last lap across the gymnasium. Since the gym didn’t have much space left, Kagura had to take the long way towards the school shed, in which everything they had nowhere else to put was stored.
She was placing one step after the other, taking the delicious time she had off, balancing the volleyballs across the netted bag they were put in. A tune played in her lips, one that indicated pure bliss at the prospect that yet another long day at Gintama high school was over.
‘Ok guys, here you go!’ Kagura threw the net bag on top of a pile of junk that included a huge old picture frame gilded in gold, presumably one of the ones the Baka Director had all around the school; some gardening pots, still with traces of dirt from a bygone era; an unbelievably big pair of pruning scissors that were probably still in use; and a bunch of boxes that contained other stuff inside. As can be imagined, the equilibrium that could be held with these miscellaneous objects was immediately broken when the pack of six volleyballs came into contact with them. Thus why the pile broke down, making a tremendous noise that deafened the kid’s ears.
Damn, I really didn’t think that straight, thought Kagura, entering the shed to try to make amends for the disaster.
***
Okita Sougo was given a simple message: Meet me by the shed when lessons are finished. Although he couldn’t exactly place the person’s handwriting, it looked girlish and cute, so he was wondering if it belonged to a girl, and to whom it could belong to, were that the case. There weren’t many girls he got along with, and, honestly, he simply wanted to be done with it. Yes, it had piqued his interest, especially because he didn’t receive many of those - well, he hadn’t received a single one of them in his short existence, actually. Why was it wrong that he wanted to meet the girl and simply say: I’m honored, but I have no interest in you.? Snap out of it, Sougo, he told himself.
The path towards the shed was a long one, and he had had to say goodbye to his discipline committee members in advance, instead of leaving together, as they usually did. It was a warm day at Gintama Highschool, a bit hot if he could say so himself, and the flowerbeds smiled, right before they would be crushed by a strong heat in summer. The cicadas were already singing their incessant ballad, and he was already pissed at not leaving the school as soon as possible to go back home and play some videogames at home.
As he was approaching the shed, he noticed a disaster coming out of it: pieces of gardening equipment and other objects were lying near the entrance, and someone was making a ruckus.
’Why won’t you fit, you damn thing!’ a familiar voice yelled. ‘Do you hate me so? Let me go!’
When Sougo reached the door, he saw a struggling Kagura from his classroom, fighting to balance a set of boxes right. He looked at her, poker-faced, and decided that he would wait until she noticed his presence.
So it was you, all this time? he thought, even if a bit disappointed. Was she playing a joke on him? Did she take him for a fool, setting him up so that he could assist her tidying duty?
They knew each other. They sat next to each other after all, and were sometimes meddled in similar school affairs. Like that time they played together in the baseball championship against their rival school, or that other time they had helped someone who had been messed with by bandits. Sougo was sometimes drawn to her bellicose side, always looking for a fight and grabbing at everyone with full force. But the truth was that they didn’t interact much.
As soon as Kagura locked eyes with him, she fell.
***
‘Hey, are you okay?’ he asked.
Kagura slowly opened her eyes, trying to remember what she was doing before everything had turned black. She was diligently trying to place everything on the right spot, when someone appeared by the door. The shock was so strong that it had moved the objects underneath her, therefore colluding under her, she falling to the floor as a result.
‘I couldn’t catch you, but I did try to help put everything in its place,’ the kid said.
Who was this kid? thought Kagura, still shaken by the hit on the head. It must be someone I know… After thinking for a few blurry seconds, she realized it was Okita Sougo, the kid that sat next to her in class. Recognition flared in her eyes, and she flushed when she noticed that Okita Sougo, no less than a member of the discipline committee, had seen the disaster she had caused. Humiliated, she pushed back.
’You can’t send me to prison! I’m a minor!’ she blurted out.
’Are you an idiot? Why would I do that?’ he responded, grinning a little. So, he is onto something, Kagura thought.
’F-For no reason, of course. Nothing happened here!’
’If you mean the disaster you have caused, I can let you off the hook if you do the cop a favor.’
’You naughty policeman! I’d rather be on death row!’ she replied candidly.
’I didn’t mean that, you idiot,’ he said, a frown on his face. ‘What was it that you wanted? Why did you push this letter through my locker?’
Okita Sougo produced the medium size piece of paper, with the inscription: Meet me by the shed when lessons are finished. Kagura took a look, then couldn’t stifle her laugh.
’What are you laughing at?!’ he asked, livid.
’What makes you think I’d push that letter through your locker? That’s definitely not from me!’
’Well, you definitely don’t look like the cute handwriting type,’ he said, teasing her but still noticeably angry.
’What do you mean to say, that I’m not cute?!’ she asked, pulling his black jacket’s collar.
’I don’t need to say it, you’re proving it just now,’ Sougo pointed out.
Kagura’s nostrils flared with anger, but she decided to let it go. She just wanted to go home, and put some ice on her head. The hit still hurt, and getting angry was making it worse.
After putting him down, she took her red jacket, which Sougo had folded on a corner of the shed. Why he had been this nice, she couldn’t tell. She picked the jacket up and started to head towards the door, when a loud bang exploded across the small room.
’What was that?’ she asked, looking at Sougo.
’I think we’ve been locked up.’ he replied, staring at the door, which had been shut.
***
Sougo and Kagura had been locked up for 2 hours already. They had tried to push the door multiple times, failing miserably. Sougo had told Kagura that they’d better not break the door, or they’d have to pay for it. However, it looked like the door was strong enough to not budge an inch.
’At this rate, we’ll die of dehydration! I’m too young to die!’ said Kagura, pushing the door one more time, and shouting loudly, but apparently nobody was around to hear them. ‘Doesn’t the school have security? They should come for us eventually.’
’As far as I know, the headmaster has cut some costs as of late. Perhaps to finance his second golden statue, which was put up last month.’
’That’s impossible! They can’t cut on security!’ replied Kagura.
’Would it surprise you, coming from the headmaster?’ said Sougo.
Kagura was pensive. He didn’t tell her, but it had come to him in a talk with the discipline committee. Apparently, the headmaster was thinking of costs to cut, and having a security guard for the whole night was definitely a costly expense. And, after all, they hadn’t robbed the school for many years. Perhaps they didn’t take into account the fact that two kids could be locked up for the entirety of the night, just like they were right now.
Who could it be? Who had set him up?
’This is my fault. They definitely set me up, unbeknownst to me of course,’ he went on, taking a closer look at the note.
Kagura got closer to him, invading his personal spaces a few extra inches. She smelled of a weird combination of seaweed and roses, and the threads of her hair fell swiftly from her head, almost touching Sougo’s right hand as he held the note.
’Taking a closer look, I think I know whose handwriting this is,’ she started, taking her long-distance spectacles off. Her eyes were of the strongest cobalt, a subtle sparkle shining out of them. Why am I looking at her so?
Sougo drew back a little, and faced her. ‘Whose is it then?’
’Tama-chan’s,’ said Kagura.
’Tama-san? Is she the one behind all this?’ Sougo was a bit taken aback. From what he knew about the amicable girl, she didn’t look like one to lock people up in sheds.
’Definitely not, you idiot! How could Tama-chan have done such a thing?’ replied Kagura, a bit agitated. ‘Think about it. Who would want to do you any harm?’
Right after Kagura uttered the words, Sougo could hear steps approaching from outside.
’Okita-chan!’ the male voice said.
’Who are you?!’ Sougo shouted, punching the door and harming his hand in the process. Kagura got closer to him once again, trying to decipher the student’s voice. ‘Get us out of here!’
’What do you mean “us”? Is there somebody else there with you? Well, that wasn’t part of the plan… Anyway! Have fun trying to break out! Either if you break the door or stay here overnight, both will get you out of the discipline committee! You’re over, Okita-chan!’
’You lock us up and you think that’s gonna be the end of it, you punk!’ Kagura replied, punching together with Sougo. ‘What the fuck is this door made of!’ she exclaimed.
’I’ve been planning this for months,’ he went on. ‘I made sure this door was hard enough. I made the suggestion myself to the headmaster to cut costs in security. And I asked Tama-san to write that lovely letter to lure you here! You really thought you had an admirer, huh?’ the mysterious voice laughed. ‘If you don’t want to die, you’ll have to break out. Remember it’s Friday, and the school closes this weekend. I’ll make sure everyone, especially the teachers, know that it was nobody but Okita Sougo from the discipline committee who broke the school’s property! I just can’t believe my luck in you being with a girl there. That’s even better! They’ll think you’re a pervert!’ Kagura flinched. ‘Your days in the committee discipline are going to be over!’
’Who will believe you? I’ll tell my version of the events,’ Okita said.
‘And you think they’ll believe your word before mine? I’m the perfect student. The discipline committee loves me, especially Hijikata-san. And I know he hates you, so he won’t hesitate to have the last word. You are over, Okita-chan! Goodbye!’
The student left, leaving both Kagura and Okita bewildered. After a while, everything sunk in: they had to get out somehow. There were two windows in the shed, one on each side, with no latch, no way to open them. Of course they could break them, but knowing their greedy headmaster, it was true that Okita Sougo would lose his position in the discipline committee, and even worse, he could be expelled from the school if the headmaster went out of his mind. Okita was quite sure after pondering his options that the male voice belonged to Ren Kobayashi, a student who was obsessed with the discipline committee, but had no real friends, and often befriended teachers and school staff. It was possible everything he said was true, and that this plan would work.
’Well, I guess there’s no choice. I’ll break that window and we’ll get out. I’ll assume all the fault, this has nothing to do with you,’ he declared, getting closer to one of the windows and getting his fist ready.
Right before he punched the window with all his might, Kagura jumped at him and brought him to the ground. She grabbed both his wrists with her own, standing on top of him, her knees to both sides of his body.
’What are you doing, you imbecile?!’ she yelled, bits of saliva suddenly touching his cheek. Why was he so conscious of that?
‘There’s no other way out. We need to break one of the windows, or we’ll die inside, either of dehydration or because of lack of air,’ he stated. ‘I’m just doing what needs to be done. Please get away from me.’
’You’re running right into his palm! The guy’s an idiot. He wants to ruin you, and you’re just letting him! Don’t you like being part of the discipline committee?! Are you going to let this extra who isn’t even a Gintama character beat you?’
Sougo’s eyes opened suddenly. Why was this girl, whom he had barely talked to, cheering him on? Why had her words struck a chord in his heart? Why was his heart beating faster, why was he swallowing saliva out of a sudden?
Of course he loved being part of the discipline committee. Yes, he and Hijikata were constantly bickering, but he liked being part of their gang together with Kondou. It had given him a purpose, a reason to go to school every day.
Kagura’s hands were still holding his wrists and her body was still on top of his. He swallowed saliva once again as her grip loosened, and she sat on top of her legs. He sat in front of her, and asked decisively ‘Well, what do you suggest then?’
***
Kagura and Sougo thought of all the ways they could get out. They were either not possible in their situation, or involved someone opening the window, which implied breaking it. Kagura was starting to feel exhausted, her head still hurting from the earlier hit. She yawned deeply, and started to close her eyes a little.
’Hey, what are you doing?’ Sougo exclaimed. ‘We could die if we don’t solve this problem quickly.’
Kagura’s head lolled to the side, the exhaustion of a full day of class catching up with her, the stress leaving her body for a second.
’We won’t die. I’m with Okita Sougo, from the discipline committee. He can’t let that happen…’
’You were the one who said she would find a solution,’ he said.
’Nope. I said a cop wouldn’t let a civilian die that easily.’
’Now you’re mixing up with the Gintama world again.’
’Well. That’s us, isn’t it?’ Kagura stated, smiling wanly. ‘If we were in Gintama, we would be fighting. And you would hate me enough to let me die. But now we’re in the Ginpachi world, we’re classmates, and we need to cooperate. And you can’t let me die, or that might also go against you in this situation. So don’t let it happen, okay, sadist?’
’”Sadist”? You’re not supposed to call me that in the Ginpachi world, you know?’ he looked at her softly, a half-smile playing in his mouth with his palm on the other cheek.
And that’s the last thing Kagura saw before passing out.
***
‘Hey! What happened?! Are you okay?!’ Sougo asked in an agitated manner, softly pattering on Kagura’s cheek, trying to wake her up. Probably the hit in the head had caught up with her, or maybe worse, and she needed urgent medical assistance. Sougo was going out of his mind: Kobayashi-san was an idiot, and because of him maybe Kagura would actually die. And his stupid self couldn’t find a way out of that stupid shed.
He thought and thought of new ways to get out. He didn’t have time to waver: he had to act. He picked Kagura up with both arms and put her on the floor next to a pile of junk, so that she wouldn’t fall to the floor. Looking at all the random objects inside the shed, he found a shovel: a strong one, the kind to dig a real hole in the garden. Of course! The shed didn’t have any floor tiles, it was pure dirt that he could simply dig in.
Sougo picked up the shovel and started to dig his hole. If he dug one big enough right next to the wall, he could dig their way out of the shed. With a renewed amount of energy, he took his jacket off and started digging his way out of that damned place.
The first rounds were easy enough, but each shoveful felt harder than the previous one, and his arms started to hurt a great deal. He had to take regular breaks to take sweat out of his forehead and let his arms rest for a while. While doing so, he kept checking Kagura’s pulse just in case. On one of those occasions, he couldn’t help but touch her cheek gently. She had the whitest skin he had ever seen, and it was incredibly soft to the touch. No, he couldn’t get distracted. He had to keep digging to get out of there, both of them together.
***
After approximately one hour, the hole was ready. He had made an incredibly big one, because he had to fit both Kagura and him inside, given the fact that the girl was still unconscious. Sougo sighed heavily, put the shovel back in its place, and picked Kagura up once again with both his arms, as if she were a princess. Slowly but surely, he entered the hole he had dug, careful not to hit her with the hole’s walls - if they could be called that way. He used the full force of his calves to not slip, and, when he reached the other side, he gave Kagura a soft push so that she could reach the top, and then climbed out of the hole himself.
’Hey, wake up! We’re out!’ Sougo said excitedly, softly pattering Kagura’s cheek once again. He gently took the dirt out of her jacket and kept talking to her.
But there was no response.
***
‘Wake up… We’re out! It’s over! You can’t die on me, China girl! Wake up and shout at me, I don’t care!’
When Sougo was desperately shouting while tugging at her clothes, Kagura’s right eye opened slowly, a headache burning the sides of her head.
’What did we say about mixing Gintama with Ginpachi, huh, sadist?’ she uttered quietly, looking at him with a small grin playing on the left side of her mouth.
As soon as Sougo saw her face, he couldn’t fight the impulse to get closer to her and hug her tightly, a small tear approaching each of his eyes.
’Talk about breaking character, huh?’ Kagura said, playing it cool, even though her heart was hammering at her chest. She had gone from unconscious to being too conscious of his touch and how his hand carefully took her head inside his chest.
’I hate to break it to you, sadist…’ Kagura started, ‘but we need to go home now. And I’m thirsty. And hungry… and you’re sweating a lot, it’s disgusting!’
As if broken from a spell, Sougo pushed away from her, a blush clear in his cheeks. ‘Let’s go.’
***
Kagura was chatting with her friends. She hadn’t yet told them the near-death experience she had experienced last Friday. Since it was common for her to arrive home late, she received no scolding from home, especially since Okita Sougo had managed to get her out no later than 8PM.
While this exchange was going on, she couldn’t help but notice the discipline committee walking down the corridor. Kagura exchanged a look with Sougo for a couple of seconds while drinking from a juice box, wondering what had happened to the student who wanted to ruin his reputation, but deciding to let the boy choose whether he wanted to tell her the story or simply pretend like she didn’t exist, like he commonly did during classes.
The three kids kept walking in the cafeteria’s direction. Before leaving, Sougo’s hand approached hers, and he put a small piece of paper on his hand before leaving. The piece read, ironically enough, Meet me by the shed when lessons are finished. But this time it wasn’t Tama’s girlish handwriting, it was a boyish scribble, barely understandable.
’Kagura-chan! What was that? Did he give you something?’ said Otae, with a devilish grin in her mouth.
’It’s nothing. I just have to do something after classes, is all,’ she replied.
***
‘The headmaster was wondering why there was an enormous hole next to the shed, of course. And I remembered my jacket was left there in the heat of the moment,’ started Sougo. ‘So I decided to go straight to him and tell him everything that had happened. I promised to put the dirt back and make it look just like it was before. And that was it, since nothing was broken, there was no further punishment. However, Kobayashi-san, the person who had set me up, is now suspended. Tama-san confessed to writing the letter which I showed the headmaster. Apparently, he’s also putting the security guards back. Apparently, they can’t afford to have students dead in the institution, since it’s bad for business,’ Sougo explained to Kagura with his trademark deadpan expression.
’So that’s it? And I guess you’re still a committee member?’ Kagura asked.
’Yes. I guess Kobayashi’s actions will be over for a while. I told the guys too, and apparently Hijikata-san hates the dude, for being so clingy all the time,’ Sougo concluded.
’Well, I’m glad. And now you dragged me here to help you with the hole?’
’No, that’s not it,’ he responded, a soft look on his face.
’Then why?’
’I wanted to say thank you.’
‘Why? I only gave you more trouble, didn’t I?’
’You helped me not lose sight of what was important,’ Sougo started. ‘The headmaster was furious with the situation, and I bet he could’ve even expelled me if we had broken any of the windows. You also made me realise how important being a part of the committee is for me… I guess’
’You just guess? I had to almost die to guess the whole cops at the school bullshit was important to you?!’ Kagura yelled.
’I just wanted to say I’m thankful, that’s it,’ he finished. ‘You helped me be determined.’
’Why? Because of what I said or because you wanted to save me, huh? Were you scared for me? Did that give you the final push?’ she teased.
He sighed and went inside the shed in order to pick up the shovel. He couldn’t believe a few days ago he was fearing for this girl’s life, and now she was teasing him so openly. Why had her words given him so much courage?
He picked the shovel up and started to put the dirt he had previously taken out back in. It was a much easier effort than the one he had made last Friday, and could take him half the time if he wasn’t interrupted. He really wanted to get down to play that videogame.
’Sorry. I was just joking around. Thank you for saving my life, sadist,’ Kagura said.
’I should’ve let you die after all, shouldn’t I have? Gintama’s Sougo would’ve been proud.’
‘Stop bringing Gintama up!’
’You started by calling me a sadist. It’s only fair I bring it up now.’
Right after uttering those words, Sougo was suddenly hit by a ball, more specifically by dirt. Kagura had hit him on the back, dirtying his jacket and harming his back a little.
’Hey! What’re you doing?! I need that dirt!’ Sougo exclaimed.
After turning around to shout at her, another ball full of dirt hit him right in the stomach. That was it. Sougo started grabbing little balls of dirt and hitting her too, at first a little bothered by her distracting him but later on enjoying the fight as if he was a little kid, smiling as he hadn’t in a while. How could it be that this girl pushed his buttons so right? How was it that he was enjoying something so mundane so much?
After a while, both were incredibly dirty, and the hole wasn’t even halfway there. However, Okita Sougo felt fuller than ever, and while he finished putting the dirt back, Kagura picked some dirt from the floor to help him out. They said their goodbyes and gave each other one last look before leaving.
Kagura started heading towards her house when Sougo had the sudden impulse to grab her wrist. Why was he so impulsive when it came to her? He brought her to him, and took her in a swift motion, hugging her and taking her head in his right hand, just like he had done last Friday, so that it came right into his chest. ‘I’m glad you didn’t die there, China.’
’Again, you shouldn’t call me that here, it makes no sense,’ Kagura intervened, her voice muffled by Sougo’s clothes. He wondered if she could hear his heart beat, since he definitely could hear hers. He softly caressed her head and then let her go.
’That’s enough out-of-character attitudes for one week,’ he stated. His blush clearly showing, he went his way, and after a few seconds she left as well, her steps echoing down the pavement of the street right in front of Gintama high school.