(Untitled)

[hitmansougo13]

WHO: Hijikata Toushirou, Okita Sougo
WHAT: Meeting up after Hijikata's arrival.
WHERE: By the pier.
WHEN: Two hours or so after their conversation over the journals.

Comments

[mayo_maniac]

"Friendly greeting" indeed. Years of experience and sharp intuition alone saved Hijikata from the bazooka's unforgiving blast. At the first hint of disturbance--barely processed notice of a certain scent and displacement in air--Hijikata leapt from sitting position to a full back flip over the crates of mayonnaise. With an instinct not unlike those of mothers defending their newborns, his sheathed sword was out in a manner of seconds, knocking the crates over in a loud but saving clatter onto the pier as the explosive zoomed narrowly past and crashed straight into wooden pier behind Hijikata.

Screams were heard from the civilians as an entire section of dock went up in smoke and flame. A few unlucky individuals even fell into the exposed water underneath the (former) dock. Hijikata twitched and narrowly defeated the urge to break something. Possibly Okita's head.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!!"

Pausing a bit to cursorily check over the state of his mayonnaise, he fumed, "And if a single. One. Of those mayonnaise bottles are broken, I'm holding your neck personally liable."

[hitmansougo13]

It was certainly disappointing. "Ah I missed," he said aloud deadpanned, with a blank expression on his face as if he had just fired a water gun at the Vice Commander rather than a life threatening shot. Sighing somewhat exaggeratedly, he started advancing towards Hijikata relaxedly- nothing had happened, he just said hello in a different way. Well, although he did fail to hit his target, watching said target go through all those hasty actions to evade his blow was enough for the moment. His reactions were incredible, and his movements swift. Really, he should award Hijikata-san for getting better at dodging over time. He would have to take aim more seriously in future, or fire multiple rounds, Okita reasoned.

Ignoring the damage done to the area and any civilians whom may have been affected, Okita flashed a nonchalant smile at the aggravated man before him. "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you to look out this time. But you did very well, Hijikata-san. Almost impressive," Okita spoke, watching as the other inspected his precious possessions.

"Now, now, it's not my fault they were in the way, Hijikata-san. You really should have seen it coming," Okita added, going over to one of the crates of mayonnaise, innocently helping to check them out.

[mayo_maniac]

Actually, Okita did have a point there. You'd think that after years of constantly dodging unpleasant attempts on his life Hijikata would be more prepared for Okita's constant acts of brutality.

Eh, whatever. Hijikata had better things to think about, anyway.

Edging away from the destruction and angry civilians, Hijikata brought with him an abandoned cart (that is, abandoned when its owner was forced to take a nice swim in the harbor) he'd spotted near the gaping pier-hole. Narrowing his eyes as Okita approached the mayonnaise, Hijikata placed himself in a strategically defensive position in front of the mayonnaise as he started to load the crates onto the cart.

"Ch'--not only that, but you're late. Have you even found us lodging yet?"

[hitmansougo13]

Okita started to reach a hand out to the crate full of yellow, sticky mush, but then drew his arm back. Never mind, he would have his chance to do whatever he wanted later on, however he pleased. Gazing uninterested as Hijikata piled the cart up, he wondered how the Vice Commander was intending to safe keep all that without spoiling it's contents. Unless he wanted to eat them all within the day- which honestly, Okita would prefer not to know if that was the case- they would have to get another refrigerator for the house.

"I was only helping an old woman along the way. She tripped over a cat and lost her balance. It was pretty bad, you know. I had to take her to the local clinic," Okita lied smoothly, very much used to giving excuses. Pausing for a moment, his eyes met with Hijikata's and he just stared blankly for a few seconds for no apparent reason before continuing, "I was living in one of the houses up until now. There's no room for those unsightly stuff of yours, though. The fridge is also not in working condition."

[mayo_maniac]

Hijikata snorted at Okita's very, very unlikely story. It was more likely that he was the one to have set the cat on the old woman in the first place.

"Of course they won't fit in a fridge. There was an old man I asked earlier who said he'd lend me an ice box--I'll come pick it up after we find out where we're staying."

He absently bit his cigarette and looked at Okita a bit more closely. None worse for wear, it seemed. No surprise--Hijikata doubted anyone here could pose a serious threat. Though he'd never admit it, he was glad it was Okita and not someone like...say, Yamazaki that was here, though Kondou-san would've been better. At least he was used to Okita.

"Let's go."

[hitmansougo13]

Was his little made up story being doubted? Hijikata, like always, did not seem to believe his words. That was expected, of course, anyone who knew him well enough would see through his excuse. Moreover, Okita could not really bother to spin a more convincing tale.

Half listening to Hijikata's words, Okita yawned into his free hand, before leading the way. The cart of mayonnaise sure looked heavy- well it had to be- and Okita wondered how much effort the other was putting into dragging along that huge eyesore. Probably enough to tire him after not too long, definitely. It was really boring, adapting to this new lifestyle. He barely had anything to do but snooze, wander the streets searching for whatever entertainment he could get, and some physical training if he felt like it. Hence, he did not wish to return to the house immediately- not yet, perhaps a walk around.

Thus, he decided to take a longer route, strolling along the shopping area, prolonging the journey with extra turns following his rough memory of the layout of the place. Stealing a glance at his companion, he asked out of curiosity, "Hijikata-san, is the mayonnaise troublesome to take along?"

[mayo_maniac]

"It'd be more troublesome without you," Hijikata replied tersely. And it was true. From what he'd gathered from the gossip on the docks, if he could only get mayonnaise from the townspeople, but judging from the size of the town it'd take some searching before he found someone who had it in bulk. He'd bullied this particular shipment out of a merchant, and it'd be annoying to have to eat unflavored, imperfect foods until he could find a mayo supply.

"...oi, Sougo. I'm pretty sure we saw this panty shop before."

[hitmansougo13]

"Huh?" Okita responded as Hijikata mentioned that the store they had just passed looked familiar. Pausing in his footsteps, Okita pretended to survey the surroundings, eyes wandering over said outlet and it's signboard. "Did we? How do you know that; were you staring at the panties earlier? You know, we could stop and patronize the store for a few minutes if you'd like, Hijikata-san," Okita brought up, adjusting the bazooka on his shoulder. Perhaps it was time to wrap the journey up, after all. He was not used to the weight of the new weapon, and even he felt his arm aching slightly.

[mayo_maniac]

"I know that because unlike you, I was actually paying attention to our surroundings! AND WHY IN HELL WOULD I NEED PANTIES?!"

Hijikata adjusted his grip on the carts and glared, a few of the passer-bys scurrying away from fright.

"We'd better not be lost."

[hitmansougo13]

"There's a very big difference between need and want, you should know that very well, right?" Okita answered, lightly tapping Hijikata's shoulder with his free hand, which he had grabbed an underwear with just a few seconds before, when the store owner was not looking- though it did not matter since everything came free of charge. Letting go of his grip on the cloth, he instantly put his hand away. "Hey now, don't be embarrassed."

"We're not lost, it's just up ahead," he added after Hijikata's comment.

[mayo_maniac]

Hijikata yelped when he realized that he was now left not only pushing a cartful of mayonnaise, but balancing lacy female underwear on his shoulder. Growling he snatched up the panties and slammed them hard into Okita's retreating backside.

"I DON'T NEED OR WANT PANTIES, YOU STUPID BASTARD!!! I'VE NOTHING TO BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT EXCEPT FOR BEING WITH YOU!!"

The going got noticeably easier now that the locals had scurried away to hide in the shops and buildings.

[hitmansougo13]

Prickly bastard as usual, Okita thought, as he turned around to face an annoyed Hijikata. Tilting his head down a little, he looked at the underwear which had fallen from his back after the other had roughly pushed it at him. Eyes darting back to Hijikata, he replied in a monotone, "That's rude, where are your manners? And please don't yell, Hijikata-san. It poses a threat to my ears, not to mention, you'd attract unwanted attention. Ah and who's going to pick that up now? Should we leave it lying there in it's sorry state and hope someone else puts it back where it belongs?"

He paused before retrieving a pen from his pocket, "Hey how long do you think it takes to come back to you if I write your name down?"

[mayo_maniac]

On his list of all the things that annoyed Hijikata about Okita Sougo, he had to admit that the guy's superficial insistence on manners and conduct was at the very top. That smiling face could under no conditions be trusted. On the very bad days of course, Hijikata would remember that it was Mitsuba-san that taught Sougo his manners, and he'd wonder if it was some kind of weird tribute to his sister that stayed so "polite."

"We've been attracting unwanted attention since you destroyed Dock 11, asshole. And even if you wrote my name on it there's no one in the world who'd pick up random panties off the floor and try to return them to their owner!"

[hitmansougo13]

"You think so? Don't underestimate the sincerity of good hearted citizens, Hijikata-san. But since you're so doubtful, we should try it for sure." With that, he bent down and scribbled out the Vice Commander's name in handwriting large and neat enough to be noticed easily.

Capping the pen, he stood up. "Let's move on then, it's just round that corner," It should not take long for his companion to be known in this area. Soon, someone would recall having seen or heard that name around, probably, and the rest Okita would leave it up to their own creativity.

[mayo_maniac]

Hands full with his cart, Hijikata could only content himself with stomping the panties into the ground--multiple times--before leaving it behind. He'd just have to find a way to pay Sougo back later.

From what he'd seen of the city so far, it seemed like any sort of ordinary, pleasant city. It wasn't overly noisy, and though it certainly didn't have Edo's high-risers and technology it seemed to make do. It'd probably bother Hijikata that he hadn't seen televisions around later, but for now everything seemed to be under control. There didn't seem to be any point in reinforcing Shinsengumi law on a citywide basis, as Kondou-san wasn't here with his idealism and hairy-headed smile to lead them. After all, Hijikata had never given a damn about the Shogunate or protecting Edo outside the context of Kondou-san, so he saw no point in working his ass off in a city where he was a stranger.

Too bad this "hands-off" policy didn't apply to other Gintama cast members.

"The Yorozuya are here too, so I wouldn't be surprised if other familiars eventually start appearing," he said.

[hitmansougo13]

Like Hijikata, Okita himself could not care much about maintaining law and order; he only did his duties and served the Shogunate under the Shinsengumi because of his loyalty to the Commander. Though, it was not like he did a very good job back in Edo to speak of. He did his job, handled terrorists, took care of crimes occurring in the vicinity- that was for sure. However, work time included random periods of sleeping whenever he wished, and rather than minimize the amount of violence in the city, he contributed to it as well. Rather than being cautious of the damage done and welfare of civilians that could be caught up in the chaos, he would open fire when he thought it was necessary. It could be said that he did enjoy part of the job.

"Ah, perhaps Katsura Kotaro and his Joi Faction would turn up. That'd be interesting, wouldn't it?" He replied, approaching the front door of a double story house. Okita had not really bothered much with the cleaning since he moved in. Matter of fact, he had not even bothered with getting other pieces of furniture besides what was already in the house when he found it- a wooden dining table with several chairs, a broken down fridge, a sofa that sat two people; a few cupboards and a bed on the second level. It was really bare, the place. All he brought in was clothes and some tidbits.

"I wonder how long it'll take for Kondo-san to arrive," he added, opening the unlocked door.