A/N: Is it just me? Or is the story heading towards 'depressing'?

A warmth made its way beside her, and her hand reached up to caress Raitei's cheek. Raitei guarded this field most of the time, the location only a short distance away from Kazabana at the edge of Kabukicho. But Tomoe herself almost never came, instead asking Raitei to meet her at Kazabana for her weapons whenever she needed to do a job.

"Yo, hime!"

"Long time no see."

"Oi, oi. Come visit us once in a while, won't ya?"

Hime… Hime… Hime… Tomoe-hime…

Hot tears sprung to her eyes. Tomoe bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep the tears from spilling over. Even after so many years, she could still hear their voices calling her name. Yet, no matter how much she wanted them to, not once did the voices blame her for their deaths, for staying alive for so many years while all of them died that day.

She had told Takasugi that she stayed in Edo for Kazabana and everyone in it, to watch the Tendoushuu, and to stay near everyone she wanted to destroy. But that was a lie, and she had the feeling that no matter how many excuses she made, Takasugi knew that as well as she did.

She stayed for this field. For the comrades that left her behind as they ventured into the land of the dead.

Because she was supposed to die here that day, she had vowed to die here when her time came. At the very least, she wanted to be buried here with everyone else. It was already written in her will. Her weapons and two thirds of her money would go to Takasugi, since his goals were the most similar to hers. Most of the rest would be for Gintoki, and the remaining for Katsura. Kazabana would belong to her second in command, and Raitei… Well, if Raitei didn't die by her side like all the other Entei did for their riders, Raitei would be free.

After all, it wasn't like Earth's laws allowed an Amanto horse to own anything.

She sighed and leaned her entire weight against her partner, the horse barely noticing the extra weight. If she stared for long enough, she could almost see the Amatsukaze laughing and drinking in the field, their ghosts as rowdy and cheerful as their living selves. And just once a year, she would see that battle again, re enacting before her eyes.

Raitei whickered, turning to nuzzle her hair. He missed his herd just as much as she missed hers. It was hard to believe that he was the last one standing, as he had always thought he would die before everyone else, sacrificing his life for theirs. Yet it was the very opposite. The Amatsukaze, both the Entei and humans, had given their lives so their leaders would live. Raitei swore that day it would never happen again. He would die at his mistress' side.

"It's been too long," Tomoe said. "You probably know this already, but we're another step closer to avenging you. Sada Sada is dead too. Out of our main targets, only the Tendoushuu and Naraku are left."

"Maa, maa. Don't fret about stuff like that. You'll get wrinkles, hime."

"Haha! She'll never get wrinkles. She'll get cavities before that!"

"No! Hime has to brush her teeth all the time!"

"I don't want to hear that from the man who never brushed his teeth—Ow! Mana, you're my Entei! Don't defend that guy!"

Tomoe laughed breathily, the smile never reaching her eyes. Raitei snorted. Perhaps she wasn't seeing things, wasn't just imagining her friends. Raitei seemed to see them too. And if they really were ghosts living in the field… Tomoe's expression darkened. There was only one possible reason. She had to hurry up and avenge them, so they could move on.

"Raitei, do you think…" Tomoe hesitated, frowning. "The two of us have only been able to kill the lower officers in the Amanto army. But Shin-chan…"

Raitei's eyes stared into her soul, the horse completely still. He had an idea regarding the question she would ask, but he truly did not know the answer. He didn't want to leave his herd behind either, because the field would be destroyed if they both left. Yet, he refused to let his mistress leave on her own. There were other options, of course, but that would be up to her.

"Do you think we could reach our goal faster if we worked with Shin-chan?" Tomoe finally asked.

After a long silence, Tomoe sighed. It was clear that Raitei wouldn't answer, and the ghosts of the Amatsukaze had disappeared before their eyes. And no matter how much she squinted or blurred her vision, the image of her comrades never returned. So they would not show themselves to her anymore tonight? She sighed again. It seemed that nobody would make that decision for her.

Should she leave? If she did, the world would move on. She had already secured Kazabana's position as an untouchable place to the underworld, and as a normal establishment with no shady business to the Shinsengumi. They had enough business flowing in to keep it running under her second in command, and all the staff had enough training to take over the assassinations. In fact, they already did a little more than half of the assassination jobs, and if they just pushed a little, they could do the rest as well.

And they knew about the field, they knew it was important to her. If she left instructions for them to take care of it, they would. They were almost as loyal as the Amatsukaze had been.

As for Gintoki, his debts were all paid off. She was sure he would accumulate more as time passed, but she was also quite sure that his friends would always help him if he needed them. They would gripe and complain and threaten to throw him away like two year old yogurt, but they would stick by his side.

So what was keeping her on Earth? Sentiments? They were useless on the path she was walking. True, they led her onto this path, but she had to throw them away if she wanted to reach the end of the road. Family? She was good at lying. Too good. She just had to say she was leaving for a while, or going back to the countryside, and Gintoki would believe her. Money? Not a problem. If she needed any extra, her infamy as an assassin would bring her work no matter where she was in the universe. The Tendoushuu would hire her, and the bakufu would call for her. And if there were any assassinations impossible for Kazabana, they would locate her. She could still make money, as she was sure Takasugi received the Kiheitai's source of income on Earth as well.

"Take care of this for me, alright?" Tomoe said, and handed her cloak and sword to Raitei.

The horse nodded, and she carefully placed the weapon on the ground next to her naginata, and backed away. With one last look over the field and one last pat at Raitei's shoulder, she turned and returned to the Yorozuya.

Surprisingly, or rather, not quite surprisingly, the lights were still on. Because of the previous week's events, Gintoki had missed reading that volume of Jump, and it was a double volume to boot. He was probably up reading all night until his eyes turned red and fuzzy, drinking strawberry milk until his breath turned sour. She shook her head at her older brother and walked in.

"Tadaima," she said, and removed her geta before padding in.

"Ah. You're back… Why are you covered in blood?"

"I killed someone."

"Oh. Okay."

"Gintoki, drink this. You need to rinse your mouth out," Tomoe said, handing him a cup.

"What, is Gin-chan a vampire? Does Gin-chan look like he grew fangs and became allergic to sunlight? Because I don't see a coffin anywhere, and I don't feel the sudden urge to drink blood," Gintoki drawled.

Tomoe raised her eyebrow at him. He had dark bags under his eyes, and the whites of his eyes were no longer white. They were so bloodshot that there was no longer any difference between the color of his eyes and the whites.

"This is water."

"Why is it red?"

"It isn't. And I'm not covered in blood."

"Oh." He rubbed his eyes, frowned, then rubbed again. "Oh. You're not."

"Go to sleep, idiot."

He nodded obediently, put his Jump down, and headed towards his room. But then realizing something, with his reaction coming way too late, he paused and turned back to frown at Tomoe.

"You don't look happy," Gintoki said. "Something wrong?"

For a moment, she was startled at his perception, but she sighed. "Gintoki, if I told you I was leaving Edo, what would you say?"

"Dunno. Probably good luck, and stay out of trouble. And come back to visit once in a while," he said, then hesitated. "Are you leaving?"

"Honestly? I have no idea."

"Kanpai!" The Last Generation cheered.

The bonfire blazed against the night sky, sending smoke billowing into the air. The fire was almost too hot, almost reminding them of the explosion that robbed them of a dozen friends, but the night was cold enough for them to disregard the heat. And the alcohol was plentiful enough for them to forget the day.

It didn't take too long for the samurai to find sake. The Amanto did not go into the countryside, preferring to stay in the cities they were already building in the areas they conquered. Well, it wasn't strange, since the shogun had given them permission to settle, had opened Edo to them. Only the samurai continued to fight, even as they were barraged by both the shogun's pet warriors and the fearsome Amanto armies. They were at a disadvantage, fighting a losing war. Yet, they continued to fight, to defend their home and their way of life.

Still, for just one night, with all the sake they had they could forget that they could not possibly win.

Everyone was celebrating in groups. As usual Shouyou's students got together, and the Kiheitai and Amatsukaze members wove amongst each other, once in a while including their leaders in their partying. The only thing was, all the adults drank sake, and the Last Generation… well, didn't.

Gintoki, of course, had his strawberry milk. Katsura drank rice juice, of all things, and Takasugi drank yakult. Tomoe didn't drink anything. She nibbled on milk pocky. Takasugi was sure all her teeth would rot out before thirty. It was just a race to see if she would have a mouth full of cavities first, or if Gintoki would win. Or lose, depending on your viewpoint.