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Hijikata groaned as he cracked an eye open. The room was quiet and oddly dark, not even a ray of light filtering through the blind-less window.
Why did he have to wake up, if there were no light outside?
He was about to hide back under the cover again when he heard a faint sound coming from the living room. Frowning, he grabbed his phone to check the time and made a disgruntled sound when he realised it was 3 in the morning. The sound was too low to be coming from outside, and yet it didn’t sound like a noise someone in the flat would make. The Yorozuyas were far too noisy to produce a sound at such a low frequency.
Slowly, Hijikata sat up, the covers falling on his laps. It was weird to feel the empty futon next to him, no grunts coming from a sleepy Gintoki pissed off at being woken up at such a time of the night.
Hijikata yawned as he got up, padding his way from the futon to the sliding door.
He leaned on the wooden frame, listening carefully to catch something, anything. There was nothing, at first, and then he heard muffled whispers, and Hijikata opened the door as softly as possible. The living room was silent, his footsteps breaking the peacefulness as he walked over to the couches.
A ball of white fur was missing, Sadaharu’s huge body would be hard to miss; and yet the dog was nowhere to be seen. The sound had stopped, and Hijikata decided to walk to the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water. He downed it in one go, and then walked back to Gintoki’s room, silently sliding the door almost close, leaving it ajar.
The sound started again, and there was no mistaking that it came from Kagura’s room.
Fuck. Hijikata was not stupid. He knew the sound of muffled crying. He rubbed his forehead, trying to think of what to do. He couldn’t just leave the kid like that, he had to do something.
Gintoki had warned him something like this might happen, and he’d given him some instructions. Hijikata’d thought he would be fine. But it was different when it happened in real life. Now he wasn’t so sure about how to handle the kid.
He racked his brain, trying to think about what to do. Would it spook Kagura if he knocked on her door? Should he make some ruckus, make her come out on her own?
He braced himself, sliding his door open loudly. Not too much to not make the kid start, but loud enough so she wouldn’t be surprised by the knocking on her door.
He walked to Kagura’s bedroom, shooting a glance towards Sadaharu. The dog was watching him, curious. He didn’t seem aggressive, so Hijikata guessed he wouldn’t object to him knocking on his owner’s door.
‘Kagura?’ he asked, and the sobbing stopped. He did not get an answer, though.
‘Kagura,’ he tried, softer, ‘what is wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ Kagura answered, sniffing loudly.
Hijikata held back a sigh. Of course she wouldn’t admit anything so easily. ‘I think Sadaharu would beg to differ,’
Kagura slid her door open, wiping her eyes hastily to get a better look at the dog who’d gotten up at the sound of the sliding door. ‘Sadaharu?’ she mumbled.
The dog whined, nuzzling her dangling knees, and Kagura started sobbing again. She wrapped her arms around the dog’s head.
Hijikata watched them helplessly, before he bit his lower lip. ‘Would you like something to eat? Sukonbu? Rice? Tamago Kake Gohan?’
She shot him a look, ‘Gin-san doesn’t let me watch TV at night,’ she said, and Hijikata inwardly cursed.
‘Well, maybe we can break the rule for tonight, yeah?’ Hijikata argued, handing her the remote.
Slowly, Kagura detached herself from Sadaharu. Slowly, she grabbed the remote, not exactly excited by watching shitty reruns at 3 in the morning. Still, she jumped on the ground, and padded barefoot to the TV. There, she sat crossed-legged and did a brief channel hoping. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing interesting at this time of the night for a fourteen-years-old.
She put down the remote after settling for some random telenovela running on a low-level noise. She obviously left it on just to please Hijikata. Sadaharu had come to sit to her left, busy licking his paws.
Seeing as Kagura’s mood was not going up, and his propositions were not working, he silently walked to the kitchen.
There, he pulled out his phone. He sighed as he looked it down. He didn’t want to resort to it, but it seemed he didn’t have a choice. Gintoki was busy, and he didn’t want to bother him.
Gintoki had left him instructions, in case something like this did happen, but Hijikata hadn’t thought it would actually come to this point.
Begrudgingly, he retrieved a small piece of paper from the inside of his jacket, and started typing the numbers on his phone. He clicked on the confirm button, and waited. It rang two times, before it picked up. It was silent.
Hijikata spoke first. ‘Zura?’ he asked.
‘Zura Janai, Katsura Da,’ the voice unsurprisingly answered. He sounded just as usual, and not like it was 3 in the morning. Judging by how fast he’d answered, Hijikata doubted he’d been sleeping.
Having more pressing matters than discussing Zura’s sleep schedule, Hijikata spoke up again, ‘Whatever. It’s Hijikata. Gintoki gave me your number,’
He heard rustling on the other end of the line, something passing in front of the phone, and then Katsura talked, ‘What is it? If it’s some ploy to lure me somewhere, you can try another way than by using Gintoki’s name.’ He answered, understandingly on his guard.
‘I’m not calling on behalf of the Shinsengumi,’ Hijikata clarified, ‘It’s about Kagura, actually. I- She’s not feeling well, and I don’t know what to do. Gintoki mentioned how you two get along well and said to call you if something was to happen. So, I called.’
‘Not feeling well in which sense?’ Katsura answered, sounding calmer than seconds before.
‘She’s missing Gintoki, I think. And her, erm, other parents, I guess. I don’t really know, I didn’t want to pry.’ Hijikata explained. Seeing as Katsura was not saying anything, he continued, ‘I tried talking with her, setting up her favourite show on the TV, and cooking, but nothing worked. Her crying has subsided, but other occasionally sniffling, she doesn’t say anything. I don’t know what to do.’ He finally said, confessing his helplessness.
He had stopped pacing in the kitchen, not wanting to make too much noise. He waited for Katsura’s answer, trying to remain as patient as possible.
Finally, Katsura broke the silence. He hummed. ‘Don’t hang up on me,’ he instructed, ‘put me on speaker. Stay in the room with her, you need to be here too. If it doesn’t work, I’ll come, alright?’
‘Fine by me,’ Hijikata answered. He was feeling a little bit lost. He’d handled things well the last few times he’d looked after the kid, but this was a reaction he hadn’t expected, and he was afraid to mess things up with Kagura. He didn’t know everything about her, but he knew life hadn’t always been nice to her. He knew Gintoki had become like a second father to her, and Hijikata didn’t want to intrude on that. It was hard for him to know what kind of role he was supposed to take. If he had any to have, that was.
Hijikata walked to the living room where the TV mostly worked as background noise, Kagura curled on herself, one of Sadaharu’s large paws clutched between her arms.
‘Kagura?’ Hijikata asked as he sat next to her on the ground. ‘I know it’s Gintoki you want to have here, but I have someone else on the phone, would you like to hear them?’ he asked.
She looked at the phone briefly, before she nodded slowly.
Softly, Hijikata put the phone on the ground, between him and the kid. ‘Alright.’
‘Leader?’ Katsura’s voice came through the speakers. Hijikata watched as Kagura peered at it, not enthusiastic, but not disappointed either.
‘Zura?’ She asked.
‘Zura Janai, Katsura Da, Leader. I hear you are feeling down here. I understand. I miss him too,’ Katsura admitted, voice low.
Hijikata tried not to let his surprise show, even though Kagura was not watching at him. He was surprised by the man’s confession.
Meanwhile, Katsura kept talking, ‘How would you feel about rice-balls from the stand by the river?’ He asked.
Kagura tucked her chin on her pulled up knees. ‘I’m not hungry, Zura.’
‘Zura Janai, Katsura Da,’ Katsura whispered back slowly, unable to stop his automatisms, even in situations like these. It was just as well, though. It brought familiarity, and a sort of comfort in knowing that, no matter what, some things never changed, like Katsura’s dislike at being called Zura, and the rerun of decades old TV shows episodes on Sundays after lunch.
‘Gintoki is never going to believe that you’ve said this, when he’ll come back. You better hope Hijikata and I will not repeat that, because he’ll repeat it over and over and never let it go, you know that?’ Katsura said.
‘I’m not always hungry, I just have a stronger appetite when it’s time to eat,’ Kagura seemed to feel the need to comment.
On the other end of the line, Katsura huffed. ‘I find that hard to believe, Leader. Would you mind reminding me your mealtimes?’ Zura asked politely.
Kagura considered his question. ‘It depends on my bedtime,’ she started, ‘I’m not supposed to eat when I sleep. So I would say breakfast at 9, or 10am. Then lunch at twelve. If there’s dessert, then the next snack is a 2pm, but there’s hardly ever dessert, so 1pm. Then it’s the afternoon snack at four, and at 6 too. There’s diner at 7, and after-diner snack at 9. At 11 too, if I’m not sleeping yet. Sometimes I wake up for a nighttime snack. Or two. So, see, pretty reasonable, right?’ She listed with confidence, and suddenly Hijikata understood why Gintoki always acted like a cheapskate. He did have mouths to feed, actually.
He didn’t have time to feel bad about it, though, because Zura was talking again, and he focused on it, trying not to lose the discussion thread.
‘Would 3am be such a scandalous time for you to have a nighttime snack, then?’
Kagura wiped her nose with the back of her hand, sniffling loudly. ‘No, I guess not,’ she said, ‘but I don’t want to go outside.’
Katsura hummed. ‘That, I understand. The streets, especially at night, are filled with dangerous criminals. Thieves, stealing your money, and giving it to the government. They’re roaming the streets, arresting honest civilians on baseless accusations. Really, nights in Edo are dangerous lately, I’ll tell you that.’
‘Are you trying to say something here, Katsura?’ Hijikata chimed in.
Hijikata kept looking a the phone as if Zura would materialise himself in front of them. Hijikata didn’t know why, but he was almost disappointed it didn’t happen. Not that he wanted to see Zura, as he would struggle to not arrest the man, but it was obvious he was good with taking care of Kagura. Hijikata feared he was not good enough to handle and take care of the kid. He could see that, already, just by talking with Zura, Kagura looked a little bit better.
‘You seem offended by my words, Hijikata. Have you got something to be ashamed of? I’m stating my reality to Leader here, and how I feel going out at night, even just for a short walk. The streets are not safe anymore, that’s it.’ Katsura explained.
Hijikata huffed. ‘The streets are not safe for terrorists anymore, I guess this is a win for the Shinsengumi then. I’m glad to hear that, Katsura. It feels nice to hear that our work has been meaningful.’
Loudly, Sadaharu got up, detaching himself from Kagura. She did not complain, and they both watched the large dog walk to his bowl and gobble up its entire content.
Katsura took Hijikata out of his reverie by speaking up ‘I find your lack of actual response to a civilian’s outcry outrageous, but nothing surprising for Bakufu dogs, after all.’ He sighed through the phone. ‘This is why they say “never negotiates with criminals, they’re just heartless”. I know it, now. Did you know, Leader, that the Shinsengumi has been persecuting me for years now, bursting into my home, taking my friends prisoner, and even going so far as disturbing Elizabeth’s sleep?!
‘Really?’ Kagura asked, before she was overtaken by a yawn.
Sadaharu loudly came back, and Hijikata almost jumped to his feet when he felt a tongue lick at the top of his head. He turned around with wide eyes, surprised to find the dog turning away from him. Hijikata thought he was about to get bitten, but he was leaving surprisingly unscathed, except for his now wet hair.
Sadaharu muzzled at Kagura’s head, who grabbed it between her hands and rubbed his cheeks while she answered Katsura, ‘Well, Zura, I understand that you’re upset. I don’t want to be disturbed when I sleep either, and,’ she shot a quick glance Hijikata’s way, her tone turning conniving, ‘it certainly isn’t the first time that I’m hearing someone complaining about the Shinsengumi’s lack of respect for honest people.’
Hijikata had to bite his tongue to not answer, grinding his teeth as he heard Zura’s agreeing hum.
Sadaharu slipped free from Kagura’s grasp and dropped to the floor with a loud thud. He stretched before he finally laid on the flooring, pressing himself against Kagura and Hijikata’s back. The kid leant against him without hesitation, sinking into the soft fur with an appreciative sigh.
Hijikata wasn’t sure he was allowed to do the same. But he was starting to get uncomfortable, sitting cross-legged on the ground, and back crouched, for lack of support.
Sadaharu’s tail lazily wagged, every now and then coming to tickle Hijikata’s face. He tried to avoid it, to lean back, but he lost his balance after the third attempt, and tipped backward, right into the dog’s side.
Hijikata tensed, but Sadaharu said nothing. Instead, he dropped his head on his paws, peering at Kagura with half-closed eyes.
Zura had started rambling, and the kid seemed to be trying to listen, her eyes blinking slowly as she fought against sleep. It went on for a while, his chatter punctuated by Kagura’s occasional growingly incoherent comments. It didn’t seem to bother Katsura though.
After a good ten minutes, Kagura’s head lulled to the side, dropping on Hijikata’s shoulder. The latter tried not to tense, to not wake her up. Sadaharu’s fur was warm against his back, and lying on the flooring was not as bad as he’d expected, now.
On the other end of the line, Katsura had stopped talking. Maybe the criminal had realised Kagura had stopped listening, or maybe he was dozing off as well.
‘Katsura?’ Hijikata ended up asking after the beat of silence stretched.
‘Hmm?’ the other man asked over the phone, definitely sounding like he was nodding off too.
‘She has fallen asleep.’
There was silence, and then, ‘Good.’ Katsura paused, ‘Do you need help with anything else?’ he asked.
‘No, I think that’s good for now,’ Hijikata answered.
‘Then good night, Hijikata Toshirou,’ Katsura replied solemnly.
‘Good night, Katsura. And thank you.’
Katsura hummed, and hanged up.
Sadaharu’s snores filled the room, and Hijikata put his right arm over his eyes. What a night.
Despite their poor track records, Hijikata was glad he’d called Zura. Despite his flaws and his terrorism proclivities, Katsura was a good babysitter.