Hey guys! It's been a while... No clue how long. Time flies too quick. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, heheheh. Please tell me if I did/wrote/performed anything weirdly or wrong. It's been a long time, guys. Lol. XD

I also just realized I've forgotten to give titles to the last couple of chapters... dear me.

I just wanted to say... THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO'S REVIEWED/FAVORITED/FOLLOWED THIS. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME. Been putting it off because of... school things... and the fact that I feel like a cruddy writer, but whatever... It's just to let out my creative juices and stuff. :3

Disclaimer: Is this even necessary at this point in the story?

I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG, I SWEAR!

Renji raised his blade high above his head and swung downwards.

On instinct, Gintoki dodged the attack, barely avoiding Renji's blade by a centimeter, but that didn't deter the Vice Captain from relentlessly attacking the defenseless spirit.

"Fight back, ya old geezer!" Renji shouted. Ichigo would've laughed if the situation wasn't so dire.

"Renji, back up!" Ichigo yelled.

"Oh sshiiiiit!" Gintoki shouted, doing his best to dodge Renji. "Toya! Lake Toya! Where the hell are you when I need you?!"

All of a sudden a sword manifested out of thin air just above their fight. It hung in the air for a moment before following gravity to the ground. The sword fell unsuspectingly on Renji, knocking him to the floor. Ichigo and the other bystanders stared in shock.

"Dammit, Toya, you're late! I almost got skewered!" Gintoki shouted. He grabbed the bokken and started shaking it around like a fly-swatter.

"G-Gintoki, you have a soul weapon?!" Ichigo asked, surprised. Gintoki stopped swinging how bokken around and looked at Ichigo blankly.

Gin felt the pit of his stomach drop and his blood pressure increase. "S-soul weapon? What's that? AHAHAHAH... This lil guy right here?! NO clue what this is! HAHAHAHA." Everyone stared at Gintoki suspiciously, and Gin could feel the sweat cascade down his face. Renji, on the other hand, got up groaning and rubbing the top of his head where he could feel a lump already forming. He looked at Gintoki and noticed the bokken in his hand.

Y-you bastard! I knew you were up to something- hiding a soul weapon and pretending you're innocent!" Renji shouted, pointing his sword at Gintoki once again. "There's no escaping this now. I will deal with your punishment here and now!"

Renji exerted his Shunpo, expecting to take down Gintoki easily. He lifted his blade, tilting it slightly as the light glared from it, temporarily blinding Gintoki. Gintoki blindly raised his bokken, praying Renji's sword would connect with Toya rather than his neck, but the blade never came.

Hesitatingly opening his eyes, Gintoki saw Ichigo's blade, no more than an inch away from his face, blocking Renji.

"Ichigo, this guy's a bastard, lemme mess him up a bit before we take him to prison!" Renji said angrily.

"Renji, I don't think he meant to hide this from us. He looked genuinely surprised when it showed up to!" Ichigo retorted.

"No way. Ichigo you're too naive!"

"And you're a hot headed idiot! Just calm down for a second, okay?! We're losing precious time like this. He needs to get back to his body, immediately. Captain Yamamoto even allowed it. Once he's back in his body and where he belongs, he's basically going to be out of our jurisdiction anyways."

"Tsk..." Renji relented, pulling back. "Fine, whatever then. I'm going to go with you then. I don't trust this guy one bit, and who knows what he'll end up doing."

"That's fine by me." Ichigo grinned, and slung his arm over Gintoki's shoulders. "Now let's go... hehe... we can have a niiiiice long talk when we get back..."

Gintoki felt like he just escaped the lion's den just to fall into an ocean full of starving sharks.

Poor Gintoki... LOL. BUT HEY, TOYA'S BACK. HAHAHAHA.