When Dusk Hits

Farewells

Flashback

Time had begun to pass by rapidly. I clenched my fists so much that my fingers dug into my palms. Once unclenched, my palms felt raw and my nails were left imprinted in the skin. I sigh, Kagura and I... We haven't met ever since that incident. I still don't even have the slightest idea why it happened. There were times when I would patrol, and I'd bump into her. But those encounters never lasted more than a few minutes, and Kagura seemed to avidly try to avoid me. I tremble and hold my arms tightly near my chest. My eyes slowly trace a path along the calendar, mentally crossing days off. I just want to see her before she leaves. I don't want to leave things like this. I cup the key hanging around my neck and grip it, remembering our promise. Not like this.

*************************************

I catch a glimpse of fiery hair pass by. I reflexively grab her arm, which stops her. She turns around aggressively with a malicious stare. Realizing who I was, she relaxes, but maintains an empty expression. Before, she'd greet me with a grin or annoyed expression, but today...
"Oh, it's you. Hi." Her eyes shift from looking at me to staring blankly at the ground. I place my hands on her shoulders and turn her towards me.
"Why have you been pulling this shit?" I inspect her face. She has a bored expression and her lips are firmly pressed together. Her eyes look back into mine, but they have lost the shine they once had. It oddly reminds me of something, it's reminiscent of... me.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugs.
"Don't lie."
"I'm not." She pulls away and her eyes are defiantly fixated on mine.
"Promise?" I hold my pinky out to her. She glances at my finger, not moving a bit. "Hm?" I lower my face to hers, expecting a response. She averts my gaze and sheepishly holds out a pinky. Her finger shakes, struggling to stay up. I then notice it wasn't just her finger, but her entire body was shaking, as well.
"I-" Her words cut off abruptly, I notice her voice is shaky. Is she...? I put my hand on the side of her face and gently turn it in my direction. Tears streamed down her face. I stand there dumbfounded for a few moments, then hold her against me.
"Why are you crying? Are you okay?" Kagura wipes her face with her sleeve and nods. I hug her tighter, "You can tell me."
"It's just been so hard, trying to put everything in the past, all this time."
"Putting things in the past? Why would you want to do that?" I look at her, confused. My hands still gripping her, Kagura takes two steps back away from me.
"Some things are too painful to keep, even if they are precious to you." She then puts her hands over mine and lifts them off of her.
"...what is it? What is it that you want to forget?" My voice begins to waver and I grit my teeth. She stares at me for an unbearably long moment.

And then...

She walked away.

*************************************

So this was the beginning of my desperate attempts at meeting Kagura. I would walk for extended hours, hoping I would run into her walking Sadaharu. I never thought I'd be more hopeful to see that giant dog.

My legs were feeling heavy as I scoured the area. It's hopeless. Slipping through the people taking an evening walk, I lazily collapse on a bench. I rest my eyes for a couple of minutes. After some time passes, I hear loud thundering impacts on the ground. As it approached it got louder and shook the ground. I open my eyes to see no one is around. An earthquake? The ground shakes to a beat. No, it can't be an earthquake. I survey the distance, and see a large mass coming straight for me. Still a bit hazy, I could only sluggishly prop myself up against the bench as the ruckus ensued. As it drew closer, it began to take a familiar form. Before I could fully process what was happening, a gooey warmth enveloped my head and everything became pitch black. Something sharp grazed the top of my head and I felt blood trickle. Oh, I know what this is. Feeling a bit faint from blood loss, I pull the clamped jaws from off my head.
"Never thought I'd be happy to see you," I ruffle Sadaharu's fur, "Ne, China, you need to train your beast."
"I say the same damn thing to her and she never listens." A bored monotone voice drones. I catch a glimpse of bluish silver hair out of the corner of my eye. I sigh, realizing who it is.
"Oh, Danna, it's you."
"Disappointed to see me?" The corner of his mouth raises to make a half assed smile.
"No, just not who I expected to see." I grimace and scratch underneath Sadaharu's chin.
"Just not who you wanted to see, you mean?" Gintoki annoyingly has a smug smile as he tries to look me in the eyes.
"Who said I wanted to see her?" I say defensively.
"You just admitted it yourself, you know. I never mentioned 'her'." He grins.
"...tch." There is a long silence, I have no comeback for this. I scratch the back of my head stalling for time. "Why are you walking the dog now?"
"Kagura said I should get used to walking him before she leaves so I've been in charge these last few days," He wipes a fake tear, "Is this how they treat the main character?"
"You're merely a side character now." Gintoki winced at my words and clutched his heart. There are real tears now. Help.