They had thought it would be easy finding Elizabeth, after all like Okita-san had said, it would be hard for people NOT to notice someone with features like that. Well...they were wrong. After leaving Sougo behind in the patrol car, he and Kagura had agreed to split up to cover more ground. That had been over three hours ago, and Shinpachi was beginning to wonder if they would ever find him (or her?) within the little time that they had. Just as he began to contemplate giving up, he heard a slight cackle coming from his mayonnaise-shaped communicator thingy (Why was it shaped that way anyway?) and turned to it curiously. He had almost forgotten that he had it on.

'How's it going?' Came Okita's voice over the static. Shinpachi raised the communicator closer to his mouth.

'It's no use Okita-san, no one seems to have seen her around.' He replied. After a slight pause, Okita's voice spoke up again.

'What about you China?'

'I'm checking all the places Eli goes to but nothing yet, aru.' Came Kagura's reply.

'I see...'

'Elizabeth-san could be anywhere at this rate. Maybe we should call it a night and try again tomorrow.' Shinpachi mused. Kagura seemed to agree with him.

'I'm really hungry! At this rate I'll eat Sadaharu...'

'ARF!'

'Just kidding Sadaharu! You know I won't do that-'

'Oiiii! Why is Sadaharu there? When did he join up with you? Did you stop searching for Elizabeth-san and go back to the house?!'

'Well, I got hungry so I went to get something to eat.'

'And yet you're still hungry? What's with this bottomless pit you have for a stomach?!'

Sougo harrumphed.

'Alright you two, quit it. We don't have the luxury of time so you need to keep searching-'

'Then why don't you join us instead of sitting down and ordering us around, idiot?'

'Are you TRYING to make this harder for yourself?'

'Hmph!'

Shinpachi sighed for possibly the millionth time that day before resigning himself to his fate. He'd rather keep searching till his feet bled than listen to the two bickering with each other over and over again.

'Let's get this over with. An hour more and we can call it quits.' He suggested.

'Fine.'

'Alright! Then we can eat!'

'Arf!'

(A/N: I'm sticking to describing Elizabeth as a guy since I'm sure we've all seen Eli's hairy legs, often commented old man personality and most of all...his appearance in the second movie. No lady can get a body like that!)

Elizabeth was what you would call...a quiet person, a man who rarely spoke without using his sign boards. It was for this reason that he was very observant and so even though he hadn't said it out loud, he had long noticed the change in his companion's demeanour. Katsura had been quick to deny that there were any problems and insisted he was fine, but Eli knew him too well.

So he had told the long haired samurai that he was going shopping. Except he wasn't going shopping. Instead, the Amanto had waited outside their hideout, away from view, to see if anything would happen in his absence. It took time, the sun which had been shining in all its glory had now set in the distance but it eventually paid off when Katsura came out in his monk disguise and headed off. He melded easily into the background of people as he casually but briskly walked along the streets of Edo. That a wanted man like him could go undetected for as long as he had was a testament to his abilities. In spite of how unguarded he appeared, Elizabeth knew to tread carefully in following him, for he was most likely on high alert.

He trailed Katsura at a safe distance, far enough that the sound of him waddling as he walked with his webbed feet would not be picked up by the raven haired samurai's sharp ears.

He did not know what had been tormenting his friend over the past few days but he was determined to not let Katsura go through it alone.

Towards the end of the war it became an unrelenting chain of losing battles with victories coming farther and farther in-between. The men's spirits were lower than they had ever been and most had accepted the cruel fact that they had lost and that they would never be able to avenge their comrades. At this point those who had not left were either those who had nothing to go back to, or like Takasugi, those who could not accept the changing world that had moved on when they could not.

Katsura found himself struggling to maintain the little that remained of the men's morale, whilst at the same time trying to formulate new strategies that could turn the tide, an almost impossible task.

As he sat in his tent mulling over some battle plans to distract himself from the gloomy atmosphere, he heard the flap opening from behind and turned sideways to see Shiroyasha entering with his hands behind his back.

'Gintoki...'

'Zura, what's with the serious face? Eh, scratch that, you're always serious. Want me to bring in a nice widowed lady to cheer you up?'

'It's not Zura, it's Katsura.' He replied mechanically, raising one of the papers he had been examining for the white haired man to see. 'And there's no time for that. I'm going through some battle plans.' He added.

Gintoki had looked apathetically at them with his red eyes now becoming more and more like that of a dead fish. Silently, he took a seat in front of his long time friend and placed two saucers in front of them. Then he brought out a small jug full of what Katsura suspected to be sake and started pouring it out onto them.

'Gintoki, there's no time for-'

'Zura.'

Katsura stared at his comrade, surprised at his serious tone. As he looked into his friend's face he realised just how much the war had affected him. His often carefree eyes now seemed burdened with a deep, inner anguish as one by one he had failed in protecting those he had come to take as comrades. Of those who remained, Sakamoto had left the war to go into space whilst Takasugi had fallen out with Gintoki over...that.

The raven haired samurai had sighed then and accepted the sake that Gintoki poured out for him. He took a sip and relished its taste as it went down his parched throat.

Gintoki gave him a small smile before helping himself to some as well.

'You like putting the burdens of the world on your shoulder, Zura. Sometimes, you need to let others help you.' He said softly.

Katsura scoffed.

'You're one to talk; Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been feeling lately. Even Shiroyasha has limits, you know.'

Gintoki had looked down at that. His silver bangs covered his eyes so that only the trace of a smile on his face was now visible.

'You're right. Even I have limits.' He murmured.

'Gintoki...'

'Zura...I can't take any more of THIS.'

Katsura hadn't known what to say then. Men were bad at comforting one another, so he had just taken another sip of his sake instead. When they had both emptied their saucers, he took the jug and refilled them. They had continued drinking into the night.

The next day, Shiroyasha was gone.

All of this was flying through Katsura's mind as he walked to his destination. He wondered if he should have followed Gintoki's path and chosen to live in obscurity in a world he despised. He shook his head. There was no way he could have done that, he was the kind of person who would go down with his ship. All the same, he understood and respected Gintoki's decision, more so after they had met again after all those years and after he had met with Ikumatsu.

But he also found himself empathising with Takasugi, who like him, could not live peacefully in the new world, wanted as they were. They would never find peace. That was why they could not afford to go back until the Bakufu had been destroyed. Maybe after that...

He looked up at the moon which gleamed beautifully in the sky, just like it had when he had met up with Gintoki yesterday. He wondered how he was doing.

Katsura was snapped out of his musings as he saw the person he had come to meet. The person had been leaning on a wall outside one of the shops but stood straight when he saw him and came over.

'Let's go.' The man said simply.

Katsura nodded and followed the man as he led them away.

'Will he be available this evening?' Katsura asked him. The man nodded his head.

'I believe he will have enough time for someone like you, de gozaru.'