No way in hell would Sougo and Kamui ever imagine that someone like him, would have caught your eye. What was even likeable about him? Nothing, in Sougo's eyes. He was broke, a potential alcoholic even, a sugar addict, reckless, irresponsible, he shouldn't even be considered an adult, according to Sougo. And to Kamui? Kamui was already preparing his umbrella, getting blades and everything, because if he had to fight, he would. Kamui did not give two shits about anything other than becoming strong, eating a hellishly ungodly, ridiculous amount of food, and you, apparently. So he definitely took interest in Gintoki. Sougo's tactics were..to subtly disrespect Gintoki infront of you, or..knock some sense into you. According to him. "You sure about him? Like..he seems a bit oblivious, utterly reckless. He looks like he's been skipping rent for God knows how long." He isn't technically wrong, but you'd defend Gintoki of course. "Wdym? He's perfectly fine. His obliviousness is adorable. I like him as he is. Rent? Maybe I could pay some for him." And he'd just groan, shake his head. But, he was nowhere near giving up. Surely, he'd come up with something each day. Meanwhile, Kamui's way to try to win you over, was a daily display of his strength, of his superiority. He'd casually lift random boulders, that weren't even in your way. "Can he do that?" "Who? Do what?" And he'd already be grinning like an idiot as if he just won. Sure, he'd throw some not so subtle shade at Gintoki, but as usual, you'd be quick to defend him. "Really? I think he's pretty lousy. Munching on sweets all the time. Is he even strong?" "You do that too. Except you munch on everything. And yes. He is strong." Kamui will not back down. Would probably go so far as to ask Abuto for suggestions, but Abuto can't help him either. He'd be consistently after Gintoki, while you'd be busy making the sweetest Parfait for Gintoki. "Gin! Please have this." "Strawberry Parfait?! You're the best." Is really all you wanna hear, casting those two aside. Overall, Kamui would be more interfering here. But none of them would back down, not just yet.

• 𝐇𝐢𝐣𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨

Now that, is a personal offense to Okita Sougo including Kamui. When you disclose that you are much more interested in Hijikata, you would be met with the biggest visible eye-twitch from Sougo and a rather judgemental look from Kamui. "Tell me you're kidding." Sougo would say in an uncharacteristically calm tone, even for him, to be met with a calmer, "Does it look like I am?" you say, Kamui follows shortly after his brain stops circuiting, "Really? Him? You have gotten to see something I don't." Similar to the previous sc, Sougo makes it his personal mission to degrade Hijikata as much as possible, as if Hijikata offended his bloodline. "Really?! That tax-freak?! That chainsmoker?! That Mayo-obsessed maniac over me?! Emotionally constipated NPC?!" To you, it's all useless. "Yeah. So what? That's his job as the Vice-Commander. And I'd gladly buy him Mayo all the time. And idc about the cigs. Hot." A gasp, a sharp, pointy look like he's rethinking life decisions. "Hot?! You're messed up. All he knows is being a stoic or aggressive workaholic." He's trying too hard. On the other hand, Kamui would be emotionally deterred, rather, confused. "What do you even see in him? He's older than all of us. Why him?" To be met with a smirk, and a "He's mature. And older guys? Hot. He gives off the vibes, yk. Cool, calm, authoritative aura." He's baffled on why you'd pick a vice-commander like Hijikata over him. "So if I grow older and ask you-" he's quick to be cut off, "No. We'd still be the same age." And he's never felt so powerless before. Sougo would always be in your peripheral vision whenever you were spending time with Hijikata. Creep. He would never back down, especially after literally declaring himself better than Hijikata. His attempts to kill Hijikata would now grow more serious and more frequent. But you? You're happily dunking a bottle of mayo over rice and giving it to him. "Ah! You're too kind." With that faint smile of his? That's your motivation. And for those two? They can't help it. Kamui would be after your brain and Sougo would be after Hijikata's life. Overall, Sougo would be personally offended for life, and would be more interfering in this case. But as obvious, none of them care enough to give up. "Mine." "No. Mine." "Neither's." "Ouch".

Too long, I was just a little overjoyed to see a Gintama rec 🫣

Reblogs would be highly appreciated! 🎀

Flower Language: Ulex

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The sound vibrated within the pocket of your jacket. Not loud but persistent, going off every few minutes. However, you didn’t answer. If you did, he’d only ask you where you were right now and you had no intention of telling him Technology was a miracle as much as it was a curse. Thinking back to the times before aliens had invaded earth felt like a distant dream nowadays but it was a time you missed nonetheless. The world had been a much simpler one back then. Not perfect but it had been your world. Not every invention was bad per se. Sometimes a cellphone could be useful. You could stay in contact with friends and family who lived far away. Communication was quicker and efficient thanks to it.

In a moment as the current one though, you resented this piece of technology that had been given to mankind as a result of the far advanced technology aliens had brought with them. Even when you wished to be alone, you couldn’t be as long as you carried it with you. Back home you had considered leaving it behind. However, if you would have done that, your plan would have been blown in less than an hour.

For a man who usually struggled to communicate very well, ever since you had been released from the hospital, Toshiro had been texting you hourly. The chat was filled with messages of him reminding you to take the painkillers, to drink enough water and to not exert yourself too much with your injuries still not fully recovered.

There had been a very short phrase where you actually had been grateful that he had stepped up so much in order for you to rest more, cleaning the house and cooking meals even he couldn’t fuck up. If only it wouldn’t have been for the amount of mayonnaise he always had to add to the food. God, you were sick of the taste of it.

As your condition had improved though and the stitches had been removed, you had felt ready to finally resume your normal life. Yet when you had one day stood up earlier, ready to return to your workplace, Toshiro hadn’t let you. The same day you had received the letter from your boss, informing you that you had been put on rest for the next few months. The polite choice of the words as well as the honeyed praises about all your achievements had done nothing to soothe the ire that had brewed up within you. You knew Toshiro was responsible for the fact that you had been put on rest for an undecided amount of time.

That had been nearly 4 months ago. And you were fed up. Fed up with only sitting home the entire day and doing nothing. The only times you were allowed outside were to run to the nearby grocery shop and to take a stroll through your mostly peaceful neighbourhood. You hadn’t been allowed to enter the city since the incident. The city where your workplace was but also where most of the aliens lived.

Aliens who had the highest rank within this new world they had claimed as yet another resort to settle down and rule over. Even someone as high-ranking as Toshiro as the vice-captain of the Shinsengumi technically didn’t outrank the rich ones. Not that anyone within the Shinsengumi would actually care for the newly established hierarchy. They had a rowdy reputation as it already was and you were well aware of Toshiro’s own ill temper that had earned him the nickname of the “Demonic Vice Commander”.

The izakaya you happened to work in unfortunately was in the city where so many aliens lived. A city filled with technology you still struggled to understand and comprehend. The noises. The lights. The ads. It all just kept on being shot at you and your senses, constantly causing you to be overwhelmed. Buildings that nearly scratched the clouds caged you in when you walked through the city, reaching heights you had only been able to dream about a mere decade ago. Horses were no longer the way people moved from one space to another. Spaceships and cars had taken their place, flying through the sky or gliding across the roads.

Traffic rules were something you still had struggles getting used to, especially because in a busy city no one seemed to abide by them. People jaywalked even though the traffic light was clearly red. It was such a common occurrence that at the beginning you had actually asked Toshiro if perhaps you had understood the rules wrong only for him to make you promise you would never cross the red whilst the light was still red. Technically it was illegal and he worked for a police force. So even if everyone else dashed across the roads the moment no cars came, you had always patiently waited for the light to turn green even if cars too ignored the rules sometimes.

On that day you hadn’t been wrong either. The light had clearly been green. There had been enough witnesses to that. However, one car had still raced through the streets, the honk the only warning you had gotten. Honestly, you didn’t remember much. Things had happened too fast. You did remember stumbling back, your body reacting before your brain did only to still be grazed by it. Adrenaline had masked much of the initial pain you had felt as you had been flung across the street.

The car hadn’t stopped. The drivers hadn’t cared and the fact that they hadn’t been punished by law due to the money they had still drove Toshiro insane.

You knew he still blamed himself quietly for the incident as he had actually been patrolling through the streets that day, together with no other than Sougo. Apparently both had been fighting amongst each other so much that they had been behind on schedule so by the time they had driven through the street where you had been hit, the accident had already happened and you had already been on your way to the hospital in an ambulance.

The green light didn’t mean anything. Neither did the red light. By now you knew best that it was a mere suggestion to both pedestrians and drivers alike to follow the rules. Still, you stood on the pavement as you waited for the light to turn green. The phone was still ringing within your jacket yet you continued to ignore it, the sound drowned out by the sheer scale of the city. Advertisements were blaring out of speakers, the chatter of the crowd of people passing you by mashing together into one unintelligible noise. And then there was the scariest noise of them all. The thousands of cars racing all over the city. You’d never liked them much. They were too loud and the fumes they released burned your lungs and nostrils whenever you inhaled too much of it. That said something considering how much of a heavy smoker Toshiro was. With your accident still fresh in mind, every roar of the engines and screech of tires had your heart pounding anxiously within your chest. Blurry memories of twin lights cutting harshly through the darkness and the roaring sound of a running motor rapidly approaching you like a beast about to pounce on its prey flashed within your mind, fingers digging into the flesh of your arm as your shoulders hunched over.

Once the traffic light finally flashed from red to green, you all but dashed across the street. No longer did you slowly cross it like you had done previously. Being hit by a car hardly allowed you to this kind of safety you thought you had known beforehand. Even as soon as you stood safely on the other side, your heart didn’t stop pounding and your legs didn’t stop shaking.

Every road you had crossed today had given you such a whiplash unlike anything you had ever experienced before. Normally your body had never reacted so intensely. Then again, being hit by a car and suffering from multiple damages to your soft tissues, broken bones and a concussion had obviously left marks even now that you were already much better. The doctor had told you experiencing trauma might happen after your accident.

However, up until today you hadn’t known what that felt like. How could you when Toshiro had forbidden you to return to the city completely? Had he tried to keep you stuck at home on purpose because he had feared you’d react so terribly?

Would it always be that bad? Would you from now on always have those terrible flashbacks and this tight knot of anxiety within your chest which made it difficult to breathe?

Should you perhaps go home? There were still so many roads to cross until you’d arrive at the mall.

Sirens wailed in the distance as you slowly made your way through the crowd, not even paying attention to the fact that your phone had stopped vibrating within your pocket. Your shoulders bumped against the shop windows of stores lined up as your body put as much distance between you and the road as possible. Without you even being fully aware of it.

The sirens got closer. You still didn’t full notice. Not until the shrill sound of them cut right through the fog within your mind, by now so close that other people began to curiously turn their head. That’s when you also pried your own gaze away from the ground, eyes darting across the road until you spotted the police car. It didn’t immediately click within your mind that it was headed straight for the pavement you were walking on. It was only once that jarring horn of the car added to the already piercing noise of the sirens that your body locked up.

Because you remembered this. You’d seen it all before. This vehicle on four wheels approaching you with a speed no horse could ever reach. Puffing fumes like a panting beast, motor roaring as if it was alive. Two bright headlights landing upon you as if gracing you with a spotlight fitting for the tragedy befalling you. Your body freezing up, failing to function when it counts. Flying the moment that thing hits you, time slowing down for a moment before you crash to the ground, hands trying to shield the fall only to end up shattering bones as a result.

People around you were scattering away, making space as the car announced its presence with sirens and its horn alike. Only you were pressed against a shop window like a fool, watching as if unable to look away. Tires screeched loudly as the car abruptly stopped, wheels turning around as it parked right there on the pavement, miraculously not hitting any pedestrian.

Then the horn stopped. The siren stopped too. Your heart did nearly too, knees giving in as you slid on the ground, hands still shielding your face.

Whilst your legs had lost all muscle strength, your mind and heart alike were far done from reeling from this. Your heart in particular was bashing against your ribcage as if trying to run away on its on if you wouldn’t do it.

“THE GROUND!!!”

That’s when the front passenger door was kicked open and stumbling out from it, landing on all four was a face that you actually knew.

“ya-ya… Yamazaki-san?”

Even your voice reflected how meek your body felt in that moment, barely managing to whisper his name out. There was no chance that he had heard you but you hadn’t intended for him to notice you. You actually hadn’t even attempted to speak his name.

The Shinsengumi member on the other hand was too busy to notice you, weeping as he hugged the ground. “I’m alive!! Oh God, I’m somehow still alive!! Never again!! I’m never driving with Hijikata-san-”

“If you have any complaints about my driving skills, you may address them to me directly.”

That’s when someone emerged from the driver’s door, the voice far too recognisable. Yamazaki and you both flinched alike, your own gaze darting up just in time to spot Toshiro who was staring at his phone with a scowl. His brows furrowed before he looked up, his own gaze finding your cowering form almost immediately.

He didn’t look surprised. There was a flicker of panic still as he spotted your jittery figure before he masked it with a scowl, completely ignoring Yamazaki who scrambled away the moment he stepped on the pavement and stormed to where you were sitting immediately.

“What are you doing here?? I told you to stay at home!”

It wasn’t like you weren’t used to Toshiro’s aggressive temper. He could get loud quickly when he got worked up, especially around certain people. Right now though you could not handle his harsh tone.

“I’m sorry.I’m sorry.I’m sorry. I’m-”

The sob tore right through your voice as you started crying, hot tears streaming down your cheeks in thick rivulets.

“Shit! No! I didn’t mean to yell! I-Fuck!”

Toshiro nearly choked on his own breath the moment you burst out in tears in front of him, hands hovering over your crying form as his eyes bulged in panic. He fumbled around within the pockets of his uniform, a packet of cigarettes falling out of his jacket before he pulled a tissue out and thrust it it in your face. And despite the current situation, you still managed to take it, somehow choking out a “thank you” between wheezing sobs.

Through a blurred vision you spotted Yamazaki inching closer, clearly wary of Toshiro more than you.

“y/n-san, are you al-” “Does she look alright to you?!”

In one moment Toshiro was staring at you, trying and failing to hide the panic on his face and in the next moment his head snapped around in terrifying speed as he all but barked at his poor co-worker who turned two shades paler.

“No, she doesn’t! I’m sorry!” he apologised immediately, bowing so deep that he nearly folded himself in half. By that time Toshiro had already turned his attention back on you, eyes nervously darting back and forth between your crying face and the crowd that slowly continued to gather around you.

“Let’s get you home, okay?” he pleaded hurriedly, reaching out and almost coiling away when you initially flinched upon feeling his hands wrapping around both of your arms, freezing there on your sleeves until you stopped jerking away. Then he finally pulled you up, hands retreating only for one of his arms to wrap around your waist instead.

Whispers started to come alive around you only to die down immediately the moment Toshiro glared at anyone who started murmuring amongst themselves.

Once he led you to the front passenger seat though, you stopped.

“I don’t want to get inside.”

For one moment there was this exasperated look on his face before he exhaled through his nostrils, trying to be understanding.

“You don’t want to get in the car?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to walk home?”

“...No.”

“Then how exactly do you plan to get back home?”

“… I don’t know.”

You didn’t want to get in the car. But walking would mean crossing numerous streets again you had already crossed on your way here. There were no train stations in the area where you lived. And you could hardly ask for a spaceship to take you. Really, a car was the fastest option. It felt stupid, not wanting to get inside.

“Honey,” he began, the use of the nickname causing you to glance at him surprised since he normally only called you that at home, “I’m going to bring you home. I don’t care how we do it. If you don’t want to drive, fine by me. Yamazaki can drive back to the headquarters by himself. But I am getting you back there right now. So if you don’t want to drive, tell me how you want to get back. I don’t mind walking.”

His fingers were drumming impatiently where they were resting on your hips even as he tried to be understanding. He probably meant it. Toshiro would probably cut the cars for you if he could because you were scared of them. Walking all this way back though would feel defeating after everything. The car would be the quicker option.

So you quietly slid down in the seat, hands immediately curling into fists on your thighs as Toshiro buckled you up. Yamazaki quietly slid into the backseat, not even commenting that technically he should sit at the front with Toshiro.

“Just drive slower this time, please”, he muttered, earning him another glare from Toshiro as his words made you tense up.

“Shut it, backseat. I always drive responsibly when I have y/n with me.”

He had lowered his voice significantly now that you were in the car, one hand on the wheel and the other on one of your fists, thumb brushing over tensed knuckles.

“Yeah, I know. I’m not important enough for you to mind my safety when I’m in a car with you,” Yamazaki muttered under his breath before staring out of the window. It was the only comment that was made throughout the entire car ride though. Otherwise all three of you stayed silent. Yamazaki because he felt awkward. Toshiro because he probably didn’t know what to say or wanted to say it when the two of you were alone. You because you had too many things on your mind and being inside a car didn’t make you feel necessarily safe which was why your hands didn’t uncurl once throughout the entire ride, body rigid and stiff as if embracing for another crash.

It was only once you stopped the wooden structures of the outskirts where your small neighbourhood was placed that you finally moved, unbuckling the seatbelt hurriedly and stepping out of the car. Toshiro followed after you quickly. Not before ripping the car door to the backseat open though and throwing the car keys at Yamazaki.

“Drive it back to the headquarters,” he ordered bluntly.

“Wait! What am I supposed to tell Kondou-sa-”

He didn’t even let the poor guy finish his sentence before he slammed the door shut, turning around to catch quickly up to you who had already stumbled away as far away from the street and any car.

“y/n.”

You didn’t listen, footsteps stiff but fast as you didn’t even turn around. You just wanted to get back home.

“y/n!”

His hand shot out, seizing your wrist and pulling you at once back so that your back crashed into his chest.

“Calm down. You’re breathing way too fast.”

Were you? Up until now you hadn’t actually noticed it. Now that you paid closer attention to the way your chest stuttered with each rapid inhale and exhale, you did realise that you were in fact breathing too fast and shallow. How long had you been doing this?

“Come here for a moment,” he muttered, tugging you away so that the two of you weren’t on the main street any longer but in a bit more isolated side street.

“Come on, let’s try these breathing exercises the doctor suggested in such a case. Breathe in 4 seconds, hold 4 seconds, exhale 4 seconds, repeat. Try it. Come on. I’ll even do it with you. Breathe in.”

You could feel how his chest raised as he inhaled, his own hand splayed across your abdomen to check if you were breathing in correctly as well.

“Hold it.”

Your hands squeezed the arm wrapped around your wrist, unable to stop fidgeting and needing something to dig your fingers into.

“Exhale.”

His breath brushed over your neck, warm and smelling faintly after cigarettes. He was probably itching to smoke one right now too but didn’t want to as long as you were still so on edge.

“Once more. Inhale.”

This time you actually tried to match his command, leaning further into him to feel his body inhaling and exhaling for a lead. It wasn’t easy. You were hyperventilating and your rhythm kept on getting interrupted at first, the air entering and leaving too soon. You didn’t count the time but when your breath eventually did slow down, you were sure the two of you had done those breathing exercises for 15 minutes at least.

Toshiro had stopped telling you when to inhale, hold and exhale. His hand remained over your abdomen though, counting quietly to himself.

“There. Now everything’s better,” he muttered relieved once he himself had deemed that your breathing had returned to a normal pace, pressing a chaste kiss on your neck before leading you out of the sidestreet. His arm remained wrapped around your waist though, most likely still too wary after today’s events to let you stray away from him.

“Toshi, I’m s-” “I know you’re sorry. You apologised plenty earlier,” he cut you off, not wanting to hear another apology after the ones you had already spilled out whilst crying earlier.

“I just… I don’t know. I didn’t think I’d react that badly,” you muttered, half to yourself and half to him. Truly, when you had left the house this morning, you hadn’t expected how each crossing would tear on your actual sanity. You’d never reacted like this over anything ever before. Sure, you’d never liked the city with its cars and all the shiny and noisy technology. Right now though you actually loathed it.

“Then you should probably just quit your job there.”

You’d expected him to bring this up one way or another. You just hadn’t expected him to be this straightforward with it.

“You’re telling me to just sit at home and do nothing the entire day whilst waiting for you to return?”

“I don’t mean it like this,” he interjected quickly, though you could tell he was thinking definitely thinking about it for a moment, “I just think that maybe a smaller job somewhere around the neighbourhood would be more suited for you. It’s quieter here. Safer.”

It’s also where he would have to be least worried about your safety. The city was filled with idiots who didn’t care for speed limits and arrogant creatures who had given you and your shop more than one time trouble.

It was a different matter in your small district though. It was chaotic but it was mostly peaceful. It would be far easier to guarantee your safety if you were to work somewhere here.

“I don’t know. I’ve been working there for the last 4 years. I’d have to inform my boss first.”

“I can do it for you.”

Memories of the letter you had received a few months ago from your boss returned.

“Oh, I’m sure you can’t just but will,” you murmured, already envisioning the next and last letter you’d receive from your workplace.

"It‘s for your own safety. You're too delicate, you need my protection."

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡

“- and then he just told me that I should just drive the car back to the headquarters on my own! Do you know how many traffic rules he broke whilst he raced through those streets?! He wasn’t even looking at the streets! He was looking at his pho- Sougo-san, are you even listening?”

Sougo was in fact not even looking at him right now, katana in his lap as he cleaned it with a rag.

“Yeah, yeah. Sounds very dramatic. You must have suffered a lot.”

“… You could at least try to sound like you pity me a bit!”

“It’s interesting though. I think he still hasn’t told her.”

“Told her what?”

“Wow, now you could at least try to pretend to be a little less stupid.”

“H-huh?”

“Oh dear,” Sougo sighed, shortly pinching the bridge of his nose before finally looking up to look at Yamazaki, “How do you think he even found y/n in the city when it was very obvious that she clearly wasn’t answering his calls when he stormed to one of the patrol cars and used you as the victim to drag along with?”

“Uuh… He probably tracked her, right?”

“Finally. Hope is not completely lost for you.”

“Is y/n-san actually alright with him tracking her down though? That’s a weird relationship.”

“I take it back. Hope is lost for you.”

“Hey!”

“y/n would very obviously not be alright with being tracked down. Hijikata just has never told her about the concept of tracking someone down via their phone altogether.”

“Wait, what??”

“Maybe I should pay her a visit soon. I’d love to see Hijikata’s reaction when I spill his little secret out to her.”