[Why Do Friends Always Show Up When You're Busy?!]

It had been a month since the Yorozuya found themselves in a seemingly bottomless pit of debt. Soon after they received the bill (and promptly broke every bone in Gintoki's body) Kagura, Shinpachi and Gin each began working part-time jobs on top of running the Yorozuya business. It was only after Gin had been fired 3 separate times for sexual harassment, Kagura fired once for eating all the food while waitressing, and Shinpachi refusing to work as a display case for glasses at a department store that word began to spread of the trio's troubling financial situation. Every man, woman and child in Kabukicho knew that the Sakata family was a perennially broke, freeloading bunch, but after seeing each member grow more ragged and gaunt by the day, people began to pity the three odd-jobbers.

Word then spread to Yoshiwara, and the minute Hinowa and Tsukuyo heard of the Yorozuya's troubles, they were quick to find a solution.

"8,000,000 yen?!" Shinpachi cried. "That's enough to pay off Gin-san's stupid debt, and then some!"

"Oi! It's not stupid! You'll learn that as you get older, Patsuan, the little thrills in life become more expensive," Gin retorted, then turned back to Tsukuyo, who sat across from him in his pseudo-office-living-room. "But, I agree. 8,000,000 seems rather generous."

"First of all, this ain't a donation that Hinowa's offerin', it's a job. Secondly, I don't think it's that outrageous once you consider the demands," the courtesan explained. "This is a big fish. We've been tipped off that an ex-Harusame faction is comin' to raid Yoshiwara. We're talkin' Inisui, Dakini…" she paused to glance at the pale skinned girl next to her, "even Yato. All kinds of Amanto. This could mean life and death for dozens of people."

There was a pregnant pause as everyone digested the implications, and after a while Kagura spoke up.

"Wait, I don't understand. I thought Baka-nii-chan oversaw Yoshiwara ever since Housen was defeated… Why would the Harusame come now?"

"They're 'ex-Harusame,' Kagura-chan. They separated from your brother's authority and are probably gettin' revenge on him by invadin' his territory." The blonde answered between drags of her pipe.

The girl scoffed in response. "What a bunch of idiots. Once Kamui-nii finds out about this, he'll kill 'em all! Well, anyways," she said, gathering herself to retire for the night, "I think we should do it. That's 10 years' worth of sukonbu I could buy from the reward!" She raised her fist valiantly.

"Wait, Kagura-chan, we didn't even hear all the details of the job!" The responsible member of the trio interjected, pushing up his glasses. "Don't just go deciding on your own like that. Tsukuyo, please continue."

"Let's see, we would be hirin' you guys as mercenaries to supplement the Hyakka. Our numbers have kinda' dropped off since Yoshiwara's liberation a few years ago. But remember, we don't even know if this ex-Harusame threat is real, but it comes from one of our more reliable sources.

"Our informant said they'd be comin' sometime within the next couple weeks, but we have no way of knowing when. Unfortunately, this means you guys stickin' around for that whole time. We just need ya to keep your eyes open for anythin' fishy, and if it comes time, help keep our patrons and courtesans safe." She scanned the faces of everyone in the room. "What do ya guys think?"

The Yorozuya members glanced at each other in a moment of silent agreement. Gintoki, now grinning devilishly over the hefty reward money they would be receiving, leaned back with his arms crossed.

"We're in."


AN: So... I didn't forget about the story! And even though this chapter is uber short, I have the next couple chapters written up already. I just need to proof those before I get them out.

A few things I should mention for these current chapters:
- Sougo will be a bit absent, but he will reappear, in true Sougo fashion.
- I did/will not include manga spoiler from the past couple arcs, since at the time I began this fic, the chapters weren't even written yet.
- I included Tsukuyo's informal accent/way of speaking here. Sorry if that annoys anyone, but it's canon.