Takasugi took a swig from the gourd of alcohol, the man sitting on a sturdy tree branch as he watched the festival regain full swing. The shogun was gone, having retreated back into his castle without a scratch, and Gengai on the run without having accomplished a single thing in terms of avenging his beheaded son. He had been pleasantly surprised with the hint of 'fangs' Gintoki had revealed, and unpleasantly surprised by the way his Tomoe had changed.

Except she wasn't his anymore, was she? The little girl had always vehemently defended him; the spirited, hotheaded girl was more similar to him than she was to his idiot friends, and that included her brother. She had always favored him. It was obvious to everyone. As a baby, once she got a hold of him she never let go. And when she grew older, she tried to protect him, comforted him, treated his wounds, gave him gifts, treated him better than she did anyone else…

He hated her.

No. He didn't. Hate was too strong a word. Rather, he always found her annoying.

When he was a child he had always wished she would just go away, stop humiliating him in front of everyone. What kind of samurai got babied by a girl six years their junior? But when Shouyou sensei was captured, when they joined the Joui War…

His irritation had been replaced. And contrary to what Gintoki had said, he did care for her back then. They all did. She was the baby of the group, and the only female who actually put up with them, who took care of them. For her to turn out this way…

Peace, huh? If she wanted to live happily, peacefully like Gintoki and Zura, then so be it. He would destroy her along with everything else. Takasugi sighed, draining the last of the sake in one gulp. He should leave. For now, at least, there was nothing left in Edo for him to do.

Takasugi took one last look at the colors, at the nauseating illusion of peace earned with the blood of thousands of samurai and the death of Shouyou sensei. The idiots didn't think a single thing of those who gave their lives of the war, did they. They just enjoyed the perks of having Amanto on Earth.

Disgusting.

He dropped from the tree, landing softly on the grass, and turned his back on the lights.

"Shin-chan?" A soft voice said.

Takasugi froze for only half a second before he spun, drawing his katana halfway out of the scabbard before he stopped, staring wide eyed at the girl. Then he released the hilt, letting the sword slide back into the sheath on its own. He scowled.

She smiled gently, taking a single step closer. And when he took a step back, she stopped trying to close the distance between them, opting to move to the tree next to him, facing the festival. Warily, he leaned back against the tree he had been sitting on, and watched her.

He hadn't noticed her presence. He hadn't even heard her approach.

The lights danced across her face, illuminating it, dying her hair and skin with the colors of the festival. She had grown up. When he last saw her she still hadn't developed any curves, and still carried remnants of baby fat. But her delicate features hadn't changed. And the softness he now saw wasn't physical, but rather lay in the air she carried about her.

"It has been a long time," Tomoe said.

"Hn."

"How have you been?"

"Fine."

"I heard you became one of the most radical jouishishi leaders," she said, unperturbed by his curt one word answers. "One of the most violent too."

Takasugi sneered. "So what about it? It's no less than what they deserve."

"Perhaps."

The sneer vanished as Takasugi stared blankly at her. The answer wasn't one he expected.

"You should not be here. The bakufu desires your head more than that of anybody else," she said, finally turning to look at him.

"It has nothing to do with you anymore."

"Does it not?" She turned and took a step closer, then another step.

This time he let her.

His breath almost caught as he looked down at her, standing close enough to touch if he just reached out a little. The smell of shion flowers emitted from her, tickling his nose. At the back of his mind, he noted that her scent hadn't changed since so long ago. It was nostalgic. Almost nice, even.

"Whether you like it or not, you are our friend, Shin-chan. You are also a student of Yoshida Shouyou. We are connected by him," she said.

"And we are torn apart by him," Takasugi snarled, taking a step back.

He wasn't retreating. Takasugi Shinsuke did not run away from anything.

"We've split apart, Tomoe," Takasugi continued. "The moment Shouyou sensei died, the thing that bound us together disappeared. We only stayed together until the end of the war for revenge. And now that the war is over, there is nothing left keeping us together. We have different goals, different desires."

She stared at him for a moment, expression politely blank, and then she smiled. But it was icy, Takasugi noticed. She looked just like a noble, a girl raised to survive in court with a gracious yet aloof attitude, and smiles that could freeze lava, a girl that served no purpose except to look pretty and increase the status of their husband. A mindless doll.

"Torn apart?" Tomoe cocked her head. "No. Merely separated. Nothing has changed from before."

Takasugi laughed, mirthless. "Are you high on something? Or are you just blind? Everything has changed. Gintoki has forgotten the past. Zura uses peaceful measures. And you… You've lost your fangs."

Her smile changed, her eyes lit up with amusement. She was laughing at him. Takasugi scowled.

"What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Shin-chan, nothing has changed. Do you not see? Gintoki still lives the way he wants, protecting what he wants to. Zura still behaves like the naïve boy he used to be. You still seek power and strength. And I… I have never had fangs," Tomoe said lightly.

Takasugi scoffed. "That's a lie. Or do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that?"

"No. It is not a lie," Tomoe said softly. "The only things that have changed since the past are…"

Takasugi raised an eyebrow as she trailed off into silence. A faraway look came over her, and he knew that she was no longer there. She was in the past, remembering everything. And then she blinked, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. The light colored eyes suddenly felt like they were staring into his soul, reading everything.

"The only things that have changed since the past are that Shouyou sensei is dead," Tomoe continued. "And the things you want to destroy have changed. Increased, at the very least."

Takasugi's single eye widened.

Tomoe turned and started to walk away, but then she paused, turning her head to regard him. And his breath caught once again as the smile that flashed across her face reminded him of her old self.

"Also, I never thought of myself as a dog person. I do believe I resemble a cat?"

And with that, she walked away, leaving Takasugi staring at her disappearing back.

Tomoe cried out in pain as the shinai cracked down on her wrist, then her belly. Takasugi knew from experience that the attack would leave a bruise, but considering that the girl wasn't wearing any armor, it would leave a red, stinging welt that won't disappear for days.

"Oi, Gintoki. Go easy. She's a girl," Katsura called out.

Takasugi glanced over, and blinked in surprise. The boy was kneading onigiri again. He shouldn't have been surprised, he thought. Katsura was always making onigiri, as if the rice balls would solve all the problems in the world.

And then his brow twitched as he caught sight of Shouyou sensei stealing another of the misshaped blobs of rice.

"Come on. Give up already. It's not like you know how to use a sword," Gintoki complained with a sigh.

"No! I'm gonna beat you!" Tomoe growled.

Gintoki sighed again. It was almost like Takasugi had stood down for the day just to be replaced by the purple haired girl.

And she was even weaker than Takasugi.

She let out a battle cry, which would have been more convincing and more frightening if she wasn't a six year old girl with tears of pain stinging her eyes. Gintoki easily dodged the clumsy swing, and shoved her back hard as she stumbled past him.

The girl went sprawling. When she sat up, Gintoki expected her to immediately shoot to her feet and rush him again, but then he heard a sniffle. And another.

Ah strawberry milk.

"Don't cry, dumbass," he said.

And then he almost smacked himself. Great job, Gintoki, he thought. Very comforting.

"I'm not crying, idiot!" She shouted, but her voice quavered.

"Aah, don't cry, don't cry," Shouyou said, almost in a panic. His hands fluttered here and there as he looked around, trying to find something to calm the girl down. And then he saw the half eaten onigiri still sitting in his hand. "Here! Eat some onigiri!"

"No, make some onigiri. It's not for eating," Katsura said.

"Hah? What's the point of making them if not to eat them?" Tomoe scoffed, swiping the tears away. "It's a waste of rice."

"What do you mean a waste? It's very good for the soul, and anything good for you isn't a waste!" Katsura retorted, hands on his hips.

"Exactly!" Tomoe said, smirking proudly.

Shouyou looked at the expression, and he got the bad feeling that she was manipulating the conversation just for this. They all knew what Katsura was like by now, and she had played them.

"Which means it wouldn't be a waste of time to teach me how to use a sword. Defending myself is good for me, because it means I won't lose my head or hand or anything else, right?"

Shouyou smiled nervously as he looked at the determined face.

Tomoe pushed closer. "Right?"