Hello again. Murayama Tsuru here, I decided to write another Gintama oneshot. This one takes place during the Bara-gaki (thorny) arc during the day when Gin-Chan and Tetsu went to Hijikata's brother's grave. So, Gin-chan's not in it much Well please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Gintama is the property of Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei. If Gintama was mine, I'd put Yamazaki on the cover because he deserves a cover too!

Sometime at night

"Shinpachi, sorry I probably won't be home tomorrow," Gin said sheepishly "So can you take care of the customer that'll be coming over? I already said I'd take her offer so…"

"Gin-san! That was irresponsible of you, why would you take a job then foist it off on your coworkers like that."

"It really wasn't my intention to skip out on this job. But you see, I'm a little preoccupied with something right now and it might take a while. So please? I'll give you 300 yen!"

"Oh fine Gin-san. I'll do the job for you. But I better get an explanation when you get back." Shinpachi sighed. Then he heard a car door open and Gin issued a quick apology and goodbye before hanging up hurriedly. Shinpachi wondered why he hung up so fast but then dismissed it as a thought for later.

The next morning

It was a peaceful morning at the docks. The workers had yet to start their day so no one was around. Well, that is, until the ship started descending from the sky. In Edo, it isn't uncommon for ships to come from the sky since the Amanto arrived, but it seemed rather early. There were two people on the bow of the ship; one sitting, one standing. The person standing had black hair, a bandage over his left eye, and was wearing a purple butterfly Kimono; while the person sitting had braided red hair and was wearing a traditional Chinese martial arts outfit. The person who was standing was looking off into the distance thinking about how he wanted to destroy everything. The person sitting was holding an umbrella and watching the sunrise and the man standing. In the background, the Kiheitai and Abuto were watching their leaders.

"Ah, sunrises really are nice. They remind me of battlefields" Kamui thought cheerfully. He also enjoyed sitting on the bow despite Abuto and the rest of the Kiheitai saying it was dangerous and that they should get off. What do they know; he was perfectly safe sitting there. If anything, it'd be Takasugi falling off because he was standing.

When the ship landed Takasugi went off saying he had something to take care of so the rest of them had the day off. The Kiheitai members went off to do various things. Like headphones, as Kamui remembered him, went off to a meeting with Terakado Tsuu, whoever that was. The guy with the angular face, Abuto calls him a pedo for some reason, went off to protest the Oedo Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths (whatever that is, Kamui thought). And he didn't know where the screechy blond went off to because he zoned out after angular face left. When only he and Abuto were left on the docks Abuto asked "So cap…admiral Kamui what are we doing today?" Kamui thought about it for a while. He wanted to go see how his sister was doing but he wasn't sure it was a good idea because she'd likely notice him right away which would end up in a fight (not that he minded fighting her, just today seemed rather inappropriate). Upon further thinking, though, Kamui had a brilliant idea for checking up on his sister and not having to fight her too. So he grinned at Abuto and said "Abuto, I want you to go spy on my sister!"

Morning In Yorozuya

When Shinpachi got to the Yorozuya he had not expected to see Kagura up. She usually had to be pried out of bed every morning. But she was up, sucking on a piece of Sukonbu looking just a little sad. When he came in she looked up and said "Shinpachi, where's Gin-Chan? I haven't seen him since yesterday when he went out to the convenience store to buy Jump uh-huh."

"Actually, Kagura-Chan, he called me last night telling me he probably wouldn't be home today."

"I bet he's off with some girl. Boys these days, what'll we do with them?"

"Kagura-Chan…I don't think that's it," Shinpachi said sweatdropping, "he told me he got called on a last minute job." Before he could continue, the doorbell rang. Shinpachi went to answer the door, remembering what Gin had said about a job he had taken. When he opened the door a girl around 15 with medium-length, wavy purple hair in a dark purple crane Kimono greeted him "Hello, I'm Yamamura Tsuruko. I called about a job the day before yesterday. I was told by a Sakata-san to come here."

"Yes, of course. Come on in," Shinpachi said moving out of the doorway "would you like some tea?" She nodded and sat down on the couch. Shinpachi came back with the tea and asked "So, Yamamura-san, what is it we can do for you? Our boss got called out on a last minute job so he can't handle your request today."

"Yes, Sakata-san did call yesterday to tell me he might not be able to see me today. So, you must be Shinpachi-kun, you're exactly like Sakata-san described you" she smiled

"Eh? How did Gin-san describe me?"

"I believe he said '95% glasses and 5% Tsukkomi' though he seemed to forget your politeness. I'd say you're 75% glasses, 5% polite, 5% Tsukkomi, and 10% Otsu fan."

"Eh? Why are my glasses more of my personality than I am again? Is that really what you guys think of me?" Shinpachi sighed and Kagura and Tsuruko laughed. Once Tsuruko caught her breath again she said "My request is that I'd like you to take me around today. There's a place I need to go at 5 but until then I'd like to have as much fun as possible. When I asked about payment, Sakata-san said I should bring these," she took out Otsu-Chan's latest CD, some Sukonbu, and 8,000 yen. While Kagura didn't complain about the Sukonbu Shinpachi said "Yamamura-san, this is too much. I don't know if I can accept the CD and the money."

"Don't worry about it. Sakata-san said it would cost 10,000yen but he told me that you'd really enjoy this CD. I guess this is just a little insurance so that you'll spend the whole day with me."

Shinpachi just sighed, but didn't say anything. So Kagura piped up "So, Tsuru-Chan where do you want to go first?"

Late Morning on the street

Abuto sighed, how had he gotten into this mess. It was their first day off in a long time and he spending his time doing work. Following his boss's sister really wasn't something he wanted to spend his time doing. Thinking back, though, he really wondered why he didn't see this coming.

"Abuto, I want you to go spy on my sister!" Abuto just stared at Kamui so Kamui repeated himself. "Admiral, I heard you the first time. But why do you want me to do it? Didn't you tell me once that you usually spied on her?"

"Yeah, but Abuto, I'm sure she'd notice me this time, and I don't really feel like fighting her today."

"And she won't notice me? I'm pretty sure she's going to remember me from Yoshiwara; I did try to kill that glasses-brat y'know. Besides, wouldn't I stand out too much with my umbrella?" he didn't really want to do this. He'd rather be spending his time at the casino or the cabaret club on his day off. So he tried to think of any reason to get out of it. But, Kamui just showed him that infernal smile of his and said "don't worry, I have the perfect disguise for you."

So there he was, walking down the street (it had started raining, so he didn't look so weird with his umbrella) wearing the weirdest mask he had ever seen. He had asked Kamui what it was but he just said "Justaway". Abuto then asked what a Justaway was but Kamui just grinned and held it out to him. To make matters worse, Kamui was following him to make sure he did his job. Abuto had asked why, but this time he got a smile with a hint of anger "Abuto, I'm sure you'd rather be doing something else. So I'm going to follow you to make sure you follow Kagura." Abuto had wanted to ask why Kamui didn't just follow his sister himself, but he really didn't think it was worth the trouble.

When Abuto got to this place called Yorozuya (apparently where Kagura lived, weird name) three people were leaving. He remembered glasses-brat and Kagura from Yoshiwara, but he didn't know who purple-hair was. "Oh well," he thought "just have to follow them. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can do something more entertaining." Kamui had also given Abuto a walkie-talkie so he could periodically give reports on what they were doing. First they went to a book store. Abuto hadn't really wanted to go in but Kamui said he had to. So he went in and pretended to read a book (he'd gotten some looks from the staff, so he ended up buying the book to appease them). Turns out they were just buying manga. He sighed, this really was a waste of time, but it was better than Kamui's wrath.

"Admiral, is this really necessary? They're going around to different places. It's not that exciting" Abuto asked when the three came out of a restaurant. He hadn't gotten an answer. So he continued following them. Then the three of them went into this place called Takamagahara. Abuto was about to go inside when he realized something. "Admiral, do I really have to go in here? They've gone into a host club."

"A what, Abuto?"

"A host club, it's a place where guys serve female customers drinks and food."

"Of course you have to go in Abuto; I'll even go in with you." Abuto could feel the smile from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

In Takamagahara

Shinpachi had had a good day so far. First they went to the book store, then they went to Karaoke, and then they went to lunch. So when Kagura had suggested they go to Takamagahara, Shinpachi, still on a fun rush agreed whole-heartedly. Now he was coming to regret his decision. A host club really isn't a place for guys. At least they got a discount because they helped Kyoshiro-san so many times. Besides, Tsuruko-san looked happy, so it wasn't all bad. She seemed to really be enjoying Kagura bullying the hosts.

As they were leaving, Shinpachi noticed two odd people sitting at one of the tables. One was wearing a Justaway mask ("Eh? That's really weird" Shinpachi thought) looking uncomfortable. The other, who seemed to have wrapped his or her (Shinpachi couldn't really tell) face, was enjoying his or herself immensely with the Justaway mask's discomfort. Shinpachi left thinking there are all kinds of people in the world.

When they got outside Tsuruko said "It's nearly 5, so there's only one more place to go. Thank you so much for taking me around today, I had a lot of fun."

"No problem Tsuru-Chan! It's what us Odd Jobbers do best uh-huh! So where are we going next?"

Tsuruko smiled sadly and said "A graveyard. Today's the anniversary so I wanted to go visit them. But before that, I wanted to have as much fun as possible so I could tell them about it." Shinpachi and Kagura both stopped short. "Are you sure you want us to go with you?"

"Yeah, I'd usually think going to a graveyard isn't something you'd want to do with people you've just met uh-huh."

"I'm sure. I'd like them to meet the people who treated me to such a good time today." With that, they headed to the graveyard.

On the street, again

He felt a little disappointed. He'd thought his sister was going to be moping around today; after all it was the anniversary of that day. But instead she was out having fun. It was like she had forgotten about him completely. So with an uncharacteristic frown he said "Abuto, I've had enough. I'm going back to the ship."

"What? Captain Kamui, this was your idea in the first place. Do I still have to follow them?" But Kamui wasn't paying attention. He left, wondering why he was feeling suddenly mad.

At the graveyard

Kamui really didn't make sense. He came up with this idea in the first place, why would he just leave all of a sudden? But, he figured he'd follow the three anyway since Kamui didn't tell him to stop.

The three walked a little ways then stopped at a small grave. So Abuto stopped a few graves away so as not to look too suspicious (as if he didn't look suspicious enough already). He heard the purple hair talking about what fun she had today to whoever was buried there. It made Abuto feel a little guilty for spying. The glasses-brat asked "Tsuruko-san, I know this might sound rude, but who's buried here?" the girl smiled sadly and said "my parents. A year ago, they died in an accident. I was there, but my life was spared. I know it wasn't my fault that they died, but since I was there I feel responsible because I couldn't do anything to save them." It was silent for a while. Then Kagura said quietly "Tsuru-Chan, I know how you feel…today's the anniversary of when my Aniki left home. I've always felt it was my fault he left. But Pappy says it was his. It makes me remember why I want to drag him home. I usually spend today eating Sukonbu, but because of Gin-Chan I had a really good time today uh-huh!"

"Ah," Abuto thought, "So that's why Kamui left. He was upset that his sister wasn't thinking about him. Tch, this is why kids are annoying." With that, Abuto took off the Justaway mask and left.

Near some recently ruined buildings

Takasugi stared out at the expanse of broken building. He wished he had been there to see Gintoki and those Bakufu dogs, the Shinsengumi, fighting. But, otherwise the day had been rather productive. He'd finally managed to get another cop on his side. After the incident with Kamotaro, he had almost given up using cops to topple the corrupt Bakufu. But then, he found Sasaki Isaburo. Takasugi was very much looking forward to his plans coming to fruition.

On the Kiheitai Ship

When Kamui got back to the ship, he basically sat around doing nothing. This isn't unusual, but the other members of the Kiheitai avoided him because had an ominous frown on. Kamui was just about to go into the kitchen when Abuto appeared. Kamui was about to walk past Abuto when he rolled his eyes and said "You still moping? C'mon, let's go get Ramen. There's this really good place around here called Ichiraku." Kamui was about to tell Abuto he really wasn't in the mood but Abuto continued "My treat. And after dinner, we can eat some watermelon. I've heard there's a tradition of smashing it open with a stick." Kamui smiled, thinking about his sister could wait for later. Abuto doesn't often offer to pay for his food (something ridiculous about him eating too much).

Yorozuya at night

When Gin got home, Kagura was waiting for him. "Gin-Chan? Where were you today?"

"Well, I was helping deliver a letter to a mayo-freak's dead brother. How was the job today?"

"It was fun uh-huh. Thanks for setting it up for me!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't set it up for you. It just happened that way." Kagura just smiled and went off to bed. Gin, while scratching the back of his head, smiled. Kagura had seemed down for the last couple days, so it was good to see her in high spirits. What he had said about not setting it up for Kagura wasn't strictly true. He knew it was the anniversary of when Kamui left (Umibouzu had told him about it) so he was planning to take her out for the day. But the Mimawarigumi happened. Oh well, at least he got lucky with that call from Tsuruko. It was a good thing Shinpachi wasn't there; he hadn't really wanted to explain that he had been working with that Hijikata-jerk. At least he could get a good night sleep.

Omake

He knew he'd made a mistake in letting Kamui break the watermelon. It was now a large, dark pink stain that almost looked like blood. Staring at the gooey remains, Abuto said "Uh…Admiral, I think you're supposed to break the watermelon open; not smash it so we can't eat it."

"What are you talking about Abuto? Isn't it more fun this way?"

"Sigh, somehow I knew this was going to happen. It's a good thing I brought some Keppei with me."

I really hope you enjoyed reading this. I think Kamui might be a little out of character. Really sorry about that. By the way, for those who want to know how Gin-Chan called Shinpachi, Tetsu held the phone to his ear. Reviews are greatly appreciated, even if it's to tell me something I did wrong. Thank you for reading.

-Murayama Tsuru