Chapter Text
Sougo was the famous, young and handsome priest in the Church of Edo. He was known for his spectacular crucifying, exorcising skill and every women in the town loved his boyish looks but to their dismay, it was difficult to make his head turned for any girls. He was desired but romantically unavailable.
“Okita-san~” was the common sentence he would heard when he passed by the markets as they greeted him nicely. He loved it, he loved his job and this town.
Everything seemed peaceful until his life shifted when Kagura, a femme fatale Yato witch or better yet space hunter in disguise feared by many had descended as part of her task to protect Edo. Everyone in Edo were conservative and they were not used to seeing such brash personality and revealing outfits worn when Kagura first landed in Kabukicho. It was always kimonos or yukatas but she wore shorts that were skin-tight and her top was a midriff blouse revealing her fair-white belly. Some women had to keep their husbands in their houses during the first, two days Kagura wandered around Edo.
Sure, Kagura was attractive but the attention was appalling to some people due to their conservative nature. Days passed and Kagura kept getting threats by the citizens to either cover up herself or move out of Edo.
Sougo never met her nor was he inquisitive of her. But that particular day altered the course of his life forever.
“Okita-san, are you there?” A few ladies, seemingly in age of 30 and above were calling for Sougo in between of church rooms. Sougo was reading his bible intensively and got distracted by the muffled voices and a few knocks on his door.
Sougo opened the door and the ladies were making variety of facial expressions in between explaining about the chaos that was happening in the outskirts of the town.
Sougo raised up his index finger to shush the clumsy scene, “Ladies, calm down. Tell me the problem and I’ll see what I can help.”
“There’s a witch in our town! You need to exorcise this female demon, Okita-san!”
“Yes! She’s a threat to Edo, we must get rid of her!”
Sougo titled his head to the side at the revelation. A witch to exorcise? This sounds easy.
He was dragged by the ladies to the said place. As soon as he arrived, he saw the commotion of people in the town arguing and making big fuss of everything. It was nauseatingly crowded but Sougo saw a bright light among the crowd.
The so-called demonic witch was far from his expectation. He visualized a haggard-looking witch. But what he saw was cerulean blue eyes, pink luscious lips and rich shade of red hair. He wasn’t expecting such a beautiful and sultry looking woman was going to be his trouble for today.
His eyes were leering at the place that he should not be leering at.
Sougo was guilty for that.
“You citizens should be thankful to me for having bestowed Edo’s grace,” the lady, known as Kagura said proudly as she leaned her arm on her purple umbrella to which the people of Edo had been calling them her magic stick.
“We don’t need evils like you in this town, go away!”
Kagura just scoffed, ignoring the threats.
All while the citizens were booing Kagura, some of the ladies who came to meet Sougo pushed him forward. He did not know to feel encouraged nor intimidated.
“Okita-san is here to save us from you, evil witch!”
Kagura looked right into Sougo’s eyes when he stepped forward. Her cold gaze pierced right through his heart. He pulled the cross out and started yelling his mantra. His hand shook and his eyes trembled while Kagura remained calm.
Kagura let out a soft laugh, “What are you doing, idiot? As if that thing is going to burn me?”
All the citizens were stunned. Sougo’s exorcising did not work at all. Now, he felt stupid. Embarrassed, even.
“I am not the devil you’re making me to be. I came here to give Edo protection but you’re treating me like a monster,” Kagura rolled her eyes and wore her cape. She walked away from the town to somewhere, leaving all of them dumbfounded.
The ladies clamoured around Sougo, “It’s fine, Okita-san.. We trust you’ll scare her away even if it takes time.”
Sougo felt useless and revolting. He was Edo’s best priest afterall, how could a single distraction hurt his pride so much? He announced his farewell to the ladies as he marched to his office again.
Sougo knew he needed to cleanse his thoughts repeatedly. On the way back, he was battling mentally within himself at the sight of the stubborn witch he had occurred to today. He craved to see her more but his mouth kept spitting out the book verses to neutralize his dirty thoughts.
As soon as he arrived, he unlatched the door to the church and he scanned to see a female clad in her cape covering her head turned to him.
There she was sitting quietly on the church pew, the divine heard him.
She smiled at him. It was a seductive, bewitching smile.
Sougo wanted her so bad.
Kagura pulled the dangling tippet sprawled around his neck, making his head so close to hers. Sougo turned into blushing mess at the contact.
“You’re cute, like a little puppy,” Kagura whispered, “…I want to be with you where no one’s watching, not even the statues here.”
Sougo got intoxicated when Kagura started rubbing his chest. He was clothed but he could feel her soft hands roaming his body. He nodded deliriously and took Kagura’s hand in his. He dragged her into his office and secured it with a lock, praying no one saw them.
Kagura watched as Sougo covered all the statues inside the space with small cloth. When he was done, he sat down on the chair, one hand nervously fiddling the hem of the bible cover.
Kagura approached him and grabbed his jaw while unbuttoning Sougo’s cassock. She glared at him and chuckled before leaning closer to smooch his dry lips.
Sougo never knew how a woman’s lips felt all his life. Once he tasted her marshmallowey softness and honeyed stickiness… he took a great pleasure with the lingering taste so he reciprocated by kissing her back. Sougo could feel the jolt of electricity riding through his veins when Kagura played with his tongue.
Her pretty lips and teeth did not stop at the mouth. She dived down to his jaw, adam’s apple and neck while her hand intertwined Sougo’s hand that was clutching to the bible. She nibbled every parts of him that were exposed to her as if he was her last meal.
But it was night when Sougo was wide awake. The room office was dark and Kagura already had left him. He lit up the room as he got up from the sofa. His robe was left unbuttoned down to his stomach and his shoulders felt cold as the breeze hit him.
He probably was too tired as his knees wobbled and he fell down to the Earth. He stared at the mirror, the purple bruises decorating his neck everywhere and the corner of his lips stained with red gloss.
“Forgive me..” Sougo whispered as he held the rosary on his neck tight.
Sougo was guilty for that.
It was night, no one was around. He walked into the confessional; his reserved seat would be the seat to listen to the Edo citizens confessing to their sins but this time, tonight, he sat on the opposite side. He did not know why he did that, his heart and mind moved his feet just like how his heart and mind navigated his lust.
“I’ve done indecent acts. I’ve kissed a woman I am not married to and let her do things to my body… Will I be forgiven?”
It was dead silence.
“I desire her eyes, lips and body. Her name is Kagura. I’ve never felt happier than this, is this a miracle for me?”
The silence was deafening.
“But I will be forgiven because I had confessed my sins, right?”
He promised to his Lord that whatever happened with Kagura was just one time.
So when the ladies saw him walking by the town in the morning, they all greeted him vibrantly. He replied their greetings warmly. But a robot lady with the capacity of scanning a human body came towards Sougo as she was done inspecting him.
“Okita-san, I can see bruises all over your body through my machine. Are you fine?” The robot lady, known as Tama by the citizens asked. Some of the curious heads turned instantly.
Sougo gulped. He held his bible tight to his chest, “Yeah, mosquitoes, it seemed.”
A priest lying through his teeth, God forbade.
Sougo was guilty for that.
He continued his days to teach, to guide and to sanctify the people of Edo in his church.
But weeks passed, the citizens’ threats towards Kagura dissipated as she just did her work in protecting Edo behind the curtains, just like how their relationship progressed unbeknownst to the people in town.
Sougo met his fellow priest who came to visit him and watch his Mass. He was a priest from the other district who had been a longtime friend of Sougo since he was a child. His name was Hijikata, the renowned priest in Edo back in his younger days but he had settled down in his hometown, Musashi Province. It was rumoured that Hijikata decided to become a priest after the death of his first love who happened to be Sougo’s older sister, Mitsuba. He swore to never love anyone ever again.
Sougo hated his guts but he had no family left other than him after Mitsuba’s death. Sougo’s family was religious and he was pretty sure Hijikata fell in love with his sister who used to be a nun in the church of their hometown.
“Sougo,” Hijikata called out, his tone was concerned, “Why did you cover up all the statues here inside your office?”
“Are you coming here to nag on me? As expected, real low, Hijikata-san.”
Hijikata inspected the room and directed his eyes at the younger man. His arms were crossed at the back.
“During your reading of Scripture text, I can see you’re a bit distracted. Do you have anything in your mind, Sougo? Might as well share with me?” Hijikata offered a smile.
Sougo shrugged his shoulders. He knew he was extremely distracted because Kagura also came to the church to watch his Mass today. She was too alluring this morning, Sougo had to control himself for long hours. But this bastard Hijikata did not need to know that.
Hijikata craned his neck as he walked closer to analyze Sougo, “You got some weird blue bruise on your neck, even your clerical collar can’t hide it. Remember this Sougo, the collar is a proof that a priest's commitment to the faith and the important role in the church.”
“What are you insinuating? Do me a favor and mind your business, Hijikata-san.”
“I am telling you to be mindful of your position as a respected priest.”
“I appreciate that. Now, off you go.”
Sougo shooed Hijikata away as he was expecting another guest that night. It was always one favorite person of his who had become a frequent guest of him.
Sougo knew he had been sinning too much ever since he laid his eyes on Kagura but how could he resist this sweet temptation?
Kagura was on top of him. Sucking him here and there. Her body was heavenly and encased his perfectly. All of these happened while his rosary chain was wrapped tightly in his right hand.
“The God will punish you…” Kagura chortled as she trailed kisses on Sougo’s face.
“Why…” Sougo was out of breath with the proximity.
“This idiot priest is doing nasty thing in the holy place,” Kagura grimaced as she looked up from his eyes to a statue on the shelf, “Didn’t I told you to not let any statues watch us?”
Sougo turned his head to the shelf and cussed himself internally on how he forgot to cover the statue. “Forgive me,” He mumbled.
As the reliable priest of Edo, Sougo was always the one forgiving the citizens for their sins, he never had to apologize for anything nor anyone in his life ever.
“Why aren’t you saying my name? I love when you say it,” Kagura cupped his jaw.
“Forgive me, Lord Kagura.”
When she heard that, Kagura beamed like an angel and Sougo was smitten by how ethereal she looked. She slided off from the top to the side of Sougo’s body and hugged him tightly.
“Am I really your Lord?” Kagura reaffirmed as she kissed him on the lips, “Then you’re my sinful saint, aren’t you?”
Sougo nodded and squeezed her shoulders. Kagura fell asleep in Sougo’s arms.
The rosary that was hanging at the bedside table droppped and broke in half onto the floor but Sougo was too elated to do anything other than snuggling his witch girlfriend.
Maybe Kagura was right, he was truly a sinful saint. Sougo knew he had crossed too many lines and he was guilty for that, forever.