Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. We have reached the 20th chapter ^_^ I hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it's the property of Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei.

Once Gin had deposited Shizuka onto the floor of the Yorozuya, he turned to Katsura and asked, "So? What now?"

After a moment of thoughtful expressions and a lot of 'hmms' and 'I wonders' and pacing around in a silly fasion, Katsura shrugged and shook his head in ambivalence, "I don't know. What do you think we should do with him?"

Gin raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, you don't know? He's your prisoner, right? So you should know what you want to do with him…We could always turn him in to the Shinsengumi, now that I think of it. I'm sure they'd be glad to deal with this guy, whoever he is."

"Or," Shizuka interjected, looking hopeful, "you could just let me go. If you do I will ask Ninomiya-sama not to kill you and just maim you instead."

"Oh great," Gin responded, the sarcasm dripping from his voice, "that sounds so much better. You've convinced us to let you go now."

"Really?" Shizuka asked, surprised that these people seemed so gullible, "I have? You'll let me go?"

"No," Gin said with a snort, "that was sarcasm if you couldn't tell. I don't know who this Ninomiya guy is, but if he's the bad guy, then there's no way that I'm gonna let you go back to his side."

"Maybe we should let him go Gintoki," Katsura said, making the silver-haired Samurai slap his hand against his forehead, "he seems genuine in letting Ninomiya know that we shouldn't be killed after all."

"Are you being serious?" Gin asked, glaring at Katsura, "That's not gonna happen. As I said, I don't know this Ninomiya guy, but I really doubt he's the type who's just gonna let us go for kidnapping his subordinate. Especially since this kid seems like an especially violent type. Huh, no wonder you let Oogushi-kun go under cover as him; these two are a perfect match."

"That Shinsengumi bastard and I have nothing in common!" Shizuka shouted

But, his outburst was ignored completely as Katsura said, "I guess you're right, we shouldn't let him go. But still, it doesn't feel right to just leave him like this. Isn't there something we can do with him so I won't feel so guilty?"

"Why do you feel guilty?" Gin asked, looking between Katsura and Shizuka, "I thought it was Elizabeth who knocked the guy out in the first place."

"It was," Katsura sighed, looking at Shizuka for a moment, l look of pity in the Joui Shishi leader's face that Shizuka didn't want and Gin didn't understand, "but I feel bad for not letting him into my group when he asked me to all that time ago. I can't help thinking that if I had tried to change him somehow that this whole scenario wouldn't have come up in the first place…"

Both Shizuka and Gin looked at Katsura with surprise. Shizuka, suddenly feeling bad about what he was doing was about to speak, but before he could, Gin walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder saying quietly, "You really don't need to worry about that, he's not Takasugi. You can't change the whole world Zura. Besides, this kid has a whole future ahead of him that won't involve revenge now that he's here. You go off and help that mayo freak or whatever you have to do and I'll look after this brat. After all, what's one more mouth to feed for a broke guy? I'll keep this Shizuko, or whoever, out of trouble."

Katsura let out a deep sigh, "…it's Katsura, not Zura. Thanks Gintoki, that really helped… But, you're right, I have to go get Douhou-kun out of Ninomiya's clutches. Who knows what'll happen if he stays there for too much longer."

"Huh?" Gin said after a minute, "Who's Douhou? I thought we were talking about Hijikata Toshiro."

"Yes, we were," Katsura nodded with a smile, "but, because he would be recognized right away if he used his real name in my group, his cover name is Douhou Juushiro."

Gin snorted at that, "Zura, I hate to mention it, but that name doesn't sound very inconspicuous. It's a good thing that your men haven't figured him out."

Katsura looked like he was about to make a comment about Gin mocking Hijikata's cover name (and a complaint about being called Zura again), but before he could, Gin continued speaking, "Anyway, you go do whatever it is you need to do and I'll look after this brat for you. You owe me, though, and I expect you to pay up real soon."

With a grateful smile, Katsura nodded and walked out the door, leaving Gin and Shizuka alone together. Eventually, Shizuka said, "My name's not Shizuko, it's Shizuka."

Gin shrugged flippantly at that, "Either way, your name sounds like a girls. But, don't worry Shizuki, you'll be treated well here."

"Oh yeah," Shizuka said, his own voice now dripping with sarcasm, "that sounds great coming from you. And, it's not Shizuki."

"Yeesh, Shizuo, you're as bad as Katsura, always wanting your name pronounced correctly. Well, I'll have you know I'm gonna call you whatever I want! Now, what should I do to make sure you stay out of trouble…Oh, I know, you can make breakfast for me and Kagura. I'm still exhausted from my trip to D.C. and don't have the energy to even open the fridge. Now, get to it!"

Shizuka glared at Gin, "I am not your servant. What makes you think that I would ever agree to make you breakfast?"

"Because Shikamaru," Gin said with a smirk of the sadistic sort, "I could easily just turn you in to the Shinsengumi. Maybe Katsura would be mad at me for ignoring him and turning you in, but it would be worth it I'm guessing from the look on your face. So, is it time for breakfast yet? Be sure to make a lot, Kagura is a Yato after all so she eats like a horse."

Shizuka gave Gin one last glare (wanting so bad to comment that his name was not Shikamaru). But, looking into those dead fish eyes didn't give Shizuka a very good feeling that Gin was bluffing about turning him in. So, grumbling incoherently, Shizuka walked over to the refrigerator to see what was available for him to cook. Once he had chosen his ingredients, he started cooking, feeling Gin's smirk on his back; maybe he should take his chances with the Shinsengumi after all…

Hijikata did not want to go meet with Ninomiya Ankoku again; there was something about the guy that really bugged him. But, if the leader of this anti-Shinsengumi and anti-Katsura Joui group knew who Hijikata really was then he would have to deal with that now and accept the consequences later.

Also, something about that Sakubo lady bugged Hijikata as well. If she was his enemy, why in the world did she tell him that Ninomiya was onto him? Wouldn't it have been better to have kept him in the dark and let him suffer punishment he was about to receive for kidnapping and impersonating one of his subordinates (one with a photographic memory at that, if Hijikata didn't know any better, that sounded like a pretty useful skill)?

With another sigh, Hijikata realized that he had arrived at Ninomiya Ankoku's office (after yet another eternity of searching). Hijikata knocked, announcing his presence, "Ninomiya…sama, it's Shizuka. You wanted to see me?"

There was a pause and some shuffling of papers and then Ninomiya responded, "Yes, there's something I need to discuss with you. Please come in."

Hijikata, ready to fight if he had to, opened the door and asked, "So, what is it you wanted to discuss?"

A slight smile appeared on the boss's face that unnerved Hijikata to no end. Ninomiya Ankoku then said, "Well, as you remember, I promised you a promotion to the combat team if you completed this mission for me. And, I've been thinking that with your recent success of getting Katsura to join our plan, I will fulfill my promise to you."

'Oh great,' Hijikata thought, annoyed that he was hearing about someone else's promotion in an evil Joui group that wanted to take over Edo, 'I'm getting a promotion to a job in an organization I don't even want to be in. I hope you're happy Katsura, sending me here…'

Outwardly, though, Hijikata smiled, "Thank you Ninomiya-sama. Nothing makes me happier than to be able to serve our cause."

Ninomiya nodded in return and then waved him off absently, turning most of his attention back to his desk, "Well, that's all I needed to say, you can get back to whatever it is you need to be doing now."

Hijikata really didn't like feeling so dismissed, but not wanting to cause any sort of argument with this dude who may or may not know who he actually was, Hijikata turned back around and opened the door again. As the vice-chief of the Shinsengumi was walking through the door, Ninomiya stopped him once more by asking, "by the way Shizuka, I've been meaning to ask. When you said you that Hijikata got in your way when you tried to steal the map, did you manage to injure him in any way? It would make our plans go much more smoothly if he was out of the way."

Hijikata ground his teeth painfully hearing this. But, after a moment of gathering his wits together, Hijikata turned around once more and with a crazed-looking smile (he hoped anyway) responded, "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about Hijikata Toshiro, Ninomiya-sama, I doubt he'll give you too much trouble…"

Ninomiya considered this for a moment and then a sneer of his own appeared on his lips, "That's good to hear. You are dismissed."

Hijikata nodded, the smile still painted on his lips and he left the room. Once the door was closed, Ninomiya said aloud while still looking at something on his desk, "You can come out now Sakubo."

There was a rustling sound and then a section of the wall peeled away, revealing Sakubo. With a harsh look in her eye she said, "So, do you believe me now? Our Shizuka now is not the same as our usual Shizuka."

"I don't know about that," Ninomiya-sama said with a frown, "he seems the same as usual to me. But then, you do seem to know him better than I do. Is he really all that different?"

"Yes, he is," Sakubo growled, "I don't know why you can't just trust what I tell you."

"Because," Ninomiya responded, the earlier frown now replaced with a smile, "I don't trust you. You are, after all the machinator, the schemer of this group. Who knows if you aren't scheming against me as well."

With a sharp glare Sakubo hissed, "If you aren't going to trust me on this, I will have to further prove that Shizuka is not who he says he is."

"Well," Ninomiya said, smile still in place, "that is your job after all. Find out and report back to me whether or not Abe Shizuka is a spy for Katsura-san. Or if, as you believe, not who he says he is."

"Yes, I understand Hikaru-sama. I will do as you ask."

A hard glint appeared in in Ninomiya's eyes, "Do not call me that Sakubo. Now go, you have work to do."

"Yes Ninomiya-sama, I am gone." And with that, Sakubo left the room

Alone now, Ninomiya sighed, he did not want to believe that Shizuka was a spy or, even worse, Hijikata Toshiro come to stop his plans. But, at the thought that his plans were so close to fruition, Ninomiya couldn't stop the smile that bloomed on his lips. Nor could he stop the mad giggle that escaped his throat, and soon enough, he was laughing like a maniac, gleeful that he would finally get what he wanted!

Meanwhile, outside the door, Hijikata frowned having heard the whole conversation. He may not like playing spy like Yamazaki; but when he had to he could (and, how hard could standing outside a door and being quiet and listening be after all). If that Sakubo lady thought that she was going to prove that he was someone he wasn't (which he was) then he was going to do his best to prove her wrong!

With that conviction in mind, Hijikata turned away from Ninomiya's office, ready to wander aimlessly until he got to the place he was next supposed to be… the vice-captain of the Shinsengumi sighed once again, this was going to be a long day…

And that is the end of that chapter! Yeah, I have nothing else to say. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated as I love to know what you guys think. And, see you guys next update.

-村山鶴