Chapter 20

A/N: Sorry about the wait, there are still a good number of chapters to this story so keep enjoying the story! Christmas will last for quite a while in this story so I hope you don't get sick of it too soon. For now, this is still a bit before Christmas with Sakamoto and Mutsu then a party! Enjoy the Kaientiai for now though!

She nodded in response as the two women left the ladies' room to go back to their booth. By the time they'd sat down, the waiters were bringing all of their food to their group. As they all ate, Kagura noticed that, while she'd been talking to Mutsu, the guys must have been discussing something too. The redheaded Yato woman subtly watched her friends and saw some strange clues like a guilty look on Shinpachi's face and a shifting glance from Gin. After they ate and Sakamoto paid, Kagura took Mutsu shopping.

Left on their own, Gin suggested, "Well, seeing as the girls have abandoned us, we should go home first."

"Yeah, Gin-san is right," the megane otaku agreed, " We need to check on Umibozou-san and Kamui-san. Aren't you worried though? I think Kagura-chan might be onto us."

The sweets addict scoffed at his protege before he replied, "Please Pattusan, that brat is always suspicious. Don't worry about it. We have two crazy Yatos at our house to deal with right now okay?"

Shinpachi conceded for the moment though uneasily, he had noticed the look Kagura had given them so subtly.

Sakamoto had just grinned though when his old friend decided on their course as he responded, "Okay!"

While the girls were shopping, Umibozou heard footsteps outside. He'd been enduring the heavy and tense atmosphere with his son and would be glad when Kagura-chan would come in.

To his surprise, among Gin and Shinpachi, a loudly laughing man came inside but no Kagura.

"Gahaha! Hello!" the obnoxious man yelled before Gin smacked him upside the head.

"Baka! Sorry Hage, this is Tatsuma. He's an old friend from the Joui war. You remember him right?," the silver samurai admonished his friend and introduced him.

Umibozou raised an eyebrow at the bumbling idiot then questioned, "Oh, that's right. So where's Kagura-chan?"

"Oh! She went shopping with Mutsu, she'll be back a bit later, "Gin explained.

Kamui stood with an odd look on his face but smiled slightly as he watched the three men come in. Shinpachi was a bit unnerved at first but remembered that the Yato now felt more comfortable with them all, it caused him to feel better despite some tension still in the atmosphere.

"Sakamoto-san treated us to lunch but I could make something," the otaku suggested.

Umibozou and Kamui both ended up looking at each other then him for a minute then shrugged.

Shinpachi rolled his eyes at the lackluster response but went to prepare the food, he was getting too used to Gin and Kagura's responses it seemed.

Gin and Sakamoto sat on one of the couches so they could talk more as the young man had spoken.

"So, you want more of a personal gift for Mutsu? Do you like her? Is that it?" the sweets fiend inquired of his old friend.

"Gahaha, of course I like her! We're friends and comrades, I want her to enjoy herself," the space enthusiast answered.

Gin facepalmed as he mumbled, "What a baka..."

"Hm, is something wrong?" Sakamoto asked, confused at the other man's actions.

"No, I'm just talking to an idiot is all," Gin stated as he rolled his eyes.

Puzzled, the permed brunette didn't know how to react so he just shrugged.

Meanwhile, Kagura and Mutsu found a sewing shop that might be of use.

"Here we go, let's find some yarn. So what color then?" she asked her older friend.

Thinking about it, the brunette Yato decided, "Yellow. He owns so much red, brown, black but nothing yellow."

"Ooh, that sounds good! Yellow is a bright and happy color Mucchi!" Kagura responded.

At that, they separately searched the store for materials. While Kagura found a large quantity of a soft yellow color of yarn, Mutsu found the smaller details: needles, patterns and the like.

"Oh, this is a good color Kagura. I got the other tools too but what about your gift Kagura?" the brunette complimented as she gathered everything together.

The young Yorozuya smiled widely as she replied, "Thanks but it's okay. I can get my materials soon enough. Let's pay them, do you have the money? I don't have much but..."

"It's okay, I can pay. Sakamoto pays me since I keep him in line," Mutsu stated with a small smile, "Keep that money so you can get your Christmas presents for Gintoki and the others."

Kagura smiled as Mutsu paid for her goods. They gathered everything and headed back to the Yorozuya.

"Oh, wait! Mucchi, you need to go to Anego-chan's place! You have to keep this a secret," the young woman said urgently.

The older Yato nodded as Kagura led her there before going home.

At the Yorozuya, the testosterone had nearly hit a crucial level with the girls away.

"I wish Kagura would get her butt home, this atmosphere is so thick I could cut it with a knife," Gin complained as he sat at his desk.

Shinpachi sighed as the two Yatos glared silently at each other after they'd devoured their food. Through all their tenseness, Sakamoto sat laughing at a television show that was playing, oblivious to it all.

The sweets addict drank his strawberry milk in gulps, almost as if to forget his surroundings.

All of a sudden, the door slid open and a familiar voice yelled, "I'm back Gin-chan!"

The tension seemed to disappear when Kagura entered the living room. Shinpachi smiled, Umibozou exclaimed, "Kagura-chan!" and Kamui looked happy. Gin's reaction was the most intriguing as he left the nearly empty carton on his desk and he enveloped her in a hug.

"Gin-chan? I wasn't gone that long," she said as the man held her in his arms.

The look on her face was bemused and Kagura thought it was funny when blushed slightly.

Realizing what he was doing, he let go of her and coughed in embarrassment before saying, "Of course you weren't. it was just a sea of testosterone without you two."

In the middle of all this, Sakamoto's face glowed at the sight of Mutsu.

He laughed as he grabbed the female Yato into a bear hug, which caused her to squeak out, "Sakamoto..."

She let him hug her for a moment before Mutsu said firmly, "Let go now Sakamoto."

The space captain let go reluctantly as he replied, "Sorry Mutsu, I was just really happy to see you."

Since he wasn't noticing her reaction, Sakamoto missed the small smile that formed on Mutsu's lips. Both Kagura and Gin grinned at the scene but knew it might take a while with these two.

"So Kagura, where did you go? You took a while brat," the silver samurai inquired teasingly.

The red-headed Yato smiled and replied, "I stopped at Anego-chan's house for a few minutes. I took her there after we went shopping since we're going to need her help for me and Mucchi."

All of the men raised an eyebrow but Kagura wouldn't elaborate on it. Since it was late enough, Gin and Shinpachi retreated to the kitchen to make dinner while the rest took a break before the food was done.

"So Papi, Kamui, how are you both? You two didn't fight right?" Kagura asked curiously, able to watch for signs of lies.

Umibozou nervously replied, "No, it was just...kind of tense while you were gone."

Kamui just shrugged and leaned back, watching the show on television.

She sighed so she sat between her brother and Papi while she watched television. On the other couch, Sakamoto and Mutsu sat while they faced the television. the brunette Yato woman only sat facing the device, out of the corner of her eye, as she watched the man next to her nervously.

'Damn, why did Kagura bring something like that up? I need to calm down,' Mutsu reprimanded herself.

In the kitchen, Shinpachi commented nonchalantly, "So Gin-san, you acted very impulsively when you hugged Kagura-chan like that."

Dodging, Gin responded, "It was tense here, I was just glad that she was back to deal with them."

"Are you sure that's the only reason Gin-san?" the megane asked with a small frown.

Scowling, the sweets addict replied, "Let's just finish getting dinner made alright?"

Sighing heavily, Shinpachi shook his head at his friend as he helped finish in the kitchen.

The two finished and served everyone in the living room. The Yatos ate quite a lot and loudly along with Gin while the otaku and space captain ate normally. In between eating, they all chatted as well but food flew when some of the Yatos did so. The meal was lively and messy but was a happy and warm place, it felt like home.

A/N: Here it is, sorry for the long wait! I haven't had the chance to type and then my back problems have been really bad in my tailbone area. Typing can be really hard when you can't sit down for even a small time like a half hour but once this comes up I swear I'll do better and I'm still writing it! I'm working on getting it to where I want to end it then do a sequel story eventually but that will be a while. Please continue be patience and I thank you all for your continued support! Ja ne!