A/N: Hi everyone! I want to say a big thanks to Matsuki Sakata for your reviews! I'm so glad my fic is one of your faves! :D

Anyway, please enjoy! Is anyone else loving the epicness of the recent manga chapters?!

Kagura watched with shocked eyes as Gintoki made his way forward. As to how he had been able to free himself she didn't care...all she knew was that as long as he was here everything would be all right.

She turned to Abuto and shot him a smirk as he looked between her and her boss with a slight look of irritation on his face. The one armed Vice Captain found himself in quite the predicament.

Keh! I'd rather not fight the Captain's long sought-after prize, I love my life too much!

Gintoki came to a halt not far from them and raised his sword. Although it was wooden, it glinted against the moonlight. He smiled at the Yato Deputy Captain and beckoned to Kagura with his head.

'You see that little monster over there? She has other matters to attend to. It looks like you'll have to make do with me.' He said softly, masking the anger that had gripped his heart at the sight he had come to meet; bodies littered all over the place with the stench of blood tainting the air as the Shinsengumi struggled to tackle the ten Yato that had attacked them and Kagura's bruised face and body as she had faced a man nearly twice her size.

Kagura watched with dread as two more Yato came from behind, bolstering Abuto's rank. Gintoki didn't even look fazed.

'Gin-chan...'

'Get going. This may be your only chance to reach out to him.'

And she knew he was right. Kamui was injured, he wouldn't be able put up much of a fight against her. But how could she just leave her father-figure to face these monsters?

'Don't worry, we'll take care of him for you.' Kagura turned to the source of that voice and was surprised to see Hijikata and Kondo raising themselves up with their swords. It was Kondo who had spoken, and he gave her a warm smile.

'Get to your brother and end this as quickly as possible.' He said.

Kagura smiled gratefully and nodded her head. Clasping her umbrella tightly, she took off.

'I'd better see you guys after this!' She shouted.

Abuto cursed inwardly. He didn't want that little girl to get to his boss, but the only way to stop her was to get through that demon of a man who had defeated the King of the Night himself. He couldn't help but smile.

'I get all the shitty jobs, don't I?'

He was surprised when Gintoki returned the smile with one of his own.

'Try taking care of two rotten kids and tell me your job is still shitty!' He said, as he charged forward with his sword.

The attack had commenced as soon as the ships had touched ground. Katsura had to admit that Takasugi had more than enough manpower to do the job. The Shogun's guards had all come out in droves to defend the palace and the place soon evolved into a battlefield filled with the sounds of swords clashing, blood pouring and men screaming. The elite members of the Kiheitai were taking down the guard like they were made of wheat; Bansai seemed almost bored as he slashed lazily at those who approached him and Matako looked like a trigger happy harpy as she shot at all who moved within her range. Behind them, Takasugi was doing his fair share of killing, though he mostly left the work for the others to do. Katsura was not far from him, and he tried to avoid encounters as much as possible, only killing the few who insisted of battling with him. He didn't know why he did that, but he was uncomfortable with killing them, even though they were his enemies.

Although the Shinsengumi were being dealt with, he knew it was only a matter of time before more reinforcements arrived to defend the palace or worse, the Shogun escaped. Was Takasugi not aware of this?

Before he could wonder more on the plan he had not been entrusted with knowing, a cannon on the ship they had disembarked from fired into the palace, catching the guards unaware and leaving a gaping hole in the building.

'Now.' Takasugi had ordered, moving into the space created and navigating his way up the stairs. Katsura followed closely behind him and a quick glance at his back showed Bansai and Matako at his flank. So then...the men outside...

'Despicable..' He had said in disgust.

Takasugi didn't even have to ask what he meant. He smiled.

'You haven't seen anything yet.'

Abuto had avoided the first strike from Gintoki's bokuto and retaliated with a strike of his own from his umbrella. The silver haired samurai was able to quickly bring his sword in the way, to the Yato's amazement and aim a kick at his legs, forcing the Vice Captain to move back.

'No wonder my Captain is interested in you; you're as quick and agile as a cat. But...can you handle my strength?!' Abuto asked as he applied more force to his swings, forcing Gintoki to dodge by moving back. After a badly timed swing, Gintoki placed his foot on the umbrella, effectively keeping it down, and smirked.

'I can handle whatever comes my way, be it, crying women or useless old men!' He cried, aiming a strike at Abuto's face.

Abuto was able to move his face out of the way by moving backwards and jerked his weapon upwards, causing the samurai to fly into the air. With a snicker, the Yato aimed at the airborne Gintoki with his umbrella and took several shots. With practised ease, Gintoki swung at them with his sword and landed gracefully.

Behind him, Kondo and Hijikata were each battling a Yato of their own. Hijikata was forced to duck to avoid a kick which had been aimed at his head but used that motion to slash at his opponent's leg, successfully eliciting blood. The Yato recoiled slightly in surprise but recovered quickly and charged at him again.

Kondo was pushed back by the force of his opponent's swing and had to move out of the way of another, creating an opening for him to slash at the Yato's back. His opponent cried out in pain but surprised the Commander by immediately retaliating with a kick to his torso with enough force to elicit blood from Kondo's mouth. Unperturbed, 'Gorilla' grabbed the Yato by his leg and, with amazing strength, threw him like a sack into Hijikata's opponent.

On another side of the battlefield, Kamui was beginning to feel the toll of his injuries from his earlier battle with Sougo and had been forced to move back to take a break from the fighting. Before he had, he saw Gintoki coming out of the Shinsengumi building, and he couldn't help the smile that came to his face.

Well, it looks like even though I got to see him first I'm not in a condition to put up a decent fight. I guess you win, Shinsuke

He turned his attention to one of his men who had remained behind to watch over him as he recovered.

'Tell Abuto we are leaving. Our goal was to make sure the Shinsengumi would not provide backup to the Shogun's defence. Although we haven't killed their top dogs we have at least crippled them. We need to hurry and provide reinforcements to Shinsuke's assault.'

'Yes, Captain!' With that he ran off to do as ordered.

Now that he was alone, he leaned back against the wall quietly, still clutching at the part of his chest where he had been impaled.

'Kamui!'

He looked up in surprise to see his sister approaching with an expression of anger on her face. He smiled slightly.

'Well, well, look who finally showed up. My weak, little sister.' He remarked as she came to a halt not far from him. He watched her eyes scan his body silently, taking in the state of his injuries.

'What? Do you wish to take advantage of my injuries to fight me? Even as I am I can take you down.'

Kagura looked up into his eyes at this, silently.

'You stupid, stupid big brother.' She finally said, with a look of - was that pity?

She gasped slightly in surprise at the look of anger he shot her.

'What do you want?' He asked, to her irritation. She swung her umbrella at his face, forcing him to duck.

'What do I WANT? After everything you've done, to your family, to the people here? I can't believe you have the audacity to ask me that!'

'In spite of 'all I've done' you don't seem to want to leave me alone like I had hoped. You're so stupid that you can't take a hint. Don't tell me you still think I'll go home with you? That we'll be one happy family again? I no longer consider you people my family any more.'

Kagura's eyes widened slightly with hurt, but she quashed those feelings remarkably quickly and aimed her umbrella at her brother. If he wasn't prepared to listen with words...

'Then, brother, I'll have to take you with me and beat some sense into you.'

'I'd like to see you try.'

As soon as Kondo had hauled his opponent into Hijikata's, the raven haired Vice Commander had struck them through with his sword, downing them. They were both panting heavily, and blood was dripping down their faces as they struggled to stay standing. But they didn't have time to consider their fatigue as another Yato sneaked up from behind, surprising them.

'Shit!'

Before they could be hit, Gintoki had thrown his bokuto into the Yato's neck, causing the Yato to fall instantly with a gurgled cry. Abuto punished him for being distracted by giving him a huge whack, throwing him into a wall at breakneck speed.

'Yorozuya!' Kondo shouted, charging at Abuto with his Deputy at his side. They paused when another Yato made his way to Abuto's side and whispered into his ear. Abuto relaxed.

'Oh is that so? Then tell the men to depart immediately.'

'Yes, Vice Captain!' The Yato ran off as quickly as he had come.

'What?' Hijikata was shocked.

'Do you think we'll let you get away?!' Kondo wondered angrily.

Abuto laughed, though he wiped at some blood around his mouth. Damn, for an Earthling that samurai could hit hard!

'You should be happy we're sparing your worthless lives. And at least I won't get into trouble for fighting that man. Be happy for now, but be warned that we might be back for you soon.' With that he ran off, leaving them.

They watched him go off wordlessly before returning their attention to Gintoki, who was forcing himself to stand from within the crater he had left on the wall. Hijikata came up to him and helped him up.

'I suppose I should be thanking you for your help.' He said begrudgingly as he placed Gintoki's arm over his shoulder for support.

Gintoki smiled.

'You could try but you know you won't. You don't have it in you.' He replied. Kondo smiled at that.

'Then allow me to thank you, Yorozuya.' He said with a bow. 'We owe you our lives.'

'Heh, you bastards should pay up this time. Twenty cartons of strawberry milk won't even be enough.'

Kamui blocked a blow from his sister's umbrella with his own. In spite of his earlier words he knew he was at a significant disadvantage; unlike him, she had not yet been fully involved in battle so he bided his time. He dodged another blow aimed at his torso and held out his umbrella, taking several shots and forcing his sister to move out of the way.

Kagura realised her brother seemed to be holding out for something and turned round to see what it could be. She was surprised to see the Yato pulling back, returning to their Captain's side.

'Well, sister, it looks like you won't be getting your wish today.' Her brother remarked. She turned to him, realising her chance was running out.

'Kamui...please...don't leave...' She begged. It was almost like when she had been younger, when she had asked him to stay with her.

Kamui scoffed.

'It's too late for that.'

'Indeed little girl!' Kagura had little warning but she was able to dodge Abuto's blow as he came up to them. Kamui raised his hand, stopping him.

'Leave her be. Save your energy for worthier opponents.'

'If you insist, Captain.' He replied, beckoning for the men to head back. As they obliged he returned his attention to his Captain, who was looking at his sister.

'The next time we meet, I hope to kill you.' Kamui told her. With that, he took off with Abuto following closely behind. They quickly disappeared from view.

'Kamui!'

'Kagura.' Gintoki's voice called, turning her attention away from him. She was dismayed to see that Gintoki had been badly bruised, though he was now standing on his own, and came up to him.

'Gin-chan!' She hugged him and, ignoring the pain it caused, he hugged her back. He realised that she was sobbing and patted her head.

'Gin-chan, I failed. I...I wasn't able to get him.' She murmured.

'Don't worry, you'll get him next time.' Was all he said, and it was enough. She smiled and nodded her head, wiping her tears away.

'Of course.'

Gintoki smiled back and looked around. Hijikata and Kondo were making their way over to them with some of their officers.

'Where's Shinpachi?' He asked her, hoping he hadn't been caught up in the battle. Kagura shook her head.

'It's a long story, Gin-chan. After we left you in the morning, Sadist joined us and we spent the day searching for Zura.' Gintoki's eyes widened at the mention of Sougo joining them but he didn't interrupt. 'We split up, but it was Shinpachi who warned us about the Yato attack on the Shinsengumi and said he'd meet us here. Unlike us, he was on foot so I'm sure he should be coming soon.' She said.

'I see.' Gintoki said. Hijikata scoffed.

'So, that's what Sougo was doing the whole day. I suppose I can overlook his and Yamazaki's disobedience, seeing as how it saved our lives.' He said, shooting a look at the relieved Yamazaki. 'But now...' He turned to his Commander.

Kondo sighed, having already anticipated that Hijikata would ask once everything was over.

'Kondo-san...what the hell has been going on lately? You promised to tell me and I think the Yorozuya have a right to know as well.' His Deputy demanded.

Gintoki and Kagura turned to him as well, though they were silent. Taking in a deep breath, Kondo decided to begin.

'It all started when-'

'Gin-san! Kagura-chan!' They all turned to see Shinpachi running over to them.

'Shinpachi!' They replied, relieved to see him. Hijikata's eyebrow twitched.

''LIKE HELL IF THIS IS HOW THE CHAPTER ENDS! I AM FINALLY GOING TO GET MY ANSWERS SO EVERYONE IS GOING TO SIT DOWN, KEEP QUIET AND LISTEN TO KONDO-SAN'S EXPLANATION! NO MORE INTERRUPTIONS!' He yelled.

By the time he was done, everyone was quietly seated on the ground and looking up expectantly at Kondo.

'Please continue Kondo-san.' Hijikata beckoned. Obliging, Kondo cleared his throat.

'Well like I said, it all started when we began receiving tip-offs on the Jouishishi a few months ago. We didn't know where they were coming from, but they proved reliable and we were able to make some key arrests. On one occasion, we were almost able to get a hold of Katsura and his men but they became aware of our presence and fled. Not long after that, I received a letter from him-'

'You received a letter from Zura?' Gintoki asked, surprised. Kondo nodded his head gravely.

'Yes. I don't know how he did it, but I woke up one day to see a letter right next to my bed.'

Hijikata's eyes widened. So Katsura had been able to get into the heavily guarded headquarters without being seen? Not only that, he had had a chance to take out the Commander and hadn't taken it?

'When I opened it, he informed me that the information we had been receiving... was from the Kiheitai.'

'WHAT?!' Everyone but Gintoki shouted. Gintoki's eyes had narrowed at the insinuation.

So...Takasugi is involved...

'You mean the Joui are being betrayed by fellow Joui? That's strange, are they not comrades?' Yamazaki wondered.

Hijikata crossed his arms.

'It's not much of a surprise. That Takasugi is in a world of his own and seeing as how he's teamed up with Amantos he probably doesn't consider himself 'Joui' any more. But as to why he would betray them...'

Kondo shrugged.

'Your guess is as good as mine. But considering what Katsura said...I realised that if it was found out that we had been unintentionally getting information from the Kiheitai it could be twisted against us. Katsura assured me he would not expose us, but he had conditions.'

'Conditions?' Shinpachi asked.

'Yes. He demanded that Captain Saitou should be the medium of correspondence between us since he wanted someone he could trust to be discreet. He told me that he would be at a certain ramen restaurant and he gave me the time. He told me to set my men on him, but to make sure we did our best not to destroy the restaurant.'

Gintoki's eyes widened as he recalled his friend's actions that day. He had been continuously looking out the window, as if looking for something. Now it made sense.

'So he wanted you to arrest me.' He murmured.

'He didn't tell me that at the time. But Saitou brought another letter from him telling me to make sure you stayed in bars.'

'So...that's why...' Hijikata realised.

'But why would Zura do all that? Why did he want you out of the way?' Kagura wondered, looking at Gintoki's thoughtful face. Shinpachi sighed.

'I saw him tonight.'

They all turned to him at this.

'Shinpachi, you saw Zura?' Gintoki asked him. Shinpachi nodded his head.

'Gin-san, Elizabeth and I followed him. We saw him and another man board a ship that was docked at the port and they spoke with... Takasugi and Kamui.'

All of their eyes widened. Yamazaki growled angrily.

'You mean he's been deceiving us?! He stopped us from hunting the Jouishishi by discrediting our sources just so that we would leave them alone?!'

'No, that makes no sense! Why then did he not kill Kondo-san when he had the chance?' Hijikata wondered.

Kagura turned to Shinpachi.

'Shinpachi, you were with Elizabeth? Where is she?'

'E-Elizabeth-san got captured making sure I escaped.'

Gintoki's eyes widened.

'Shinpachi, is that ship still there? Are Zura and Takasugi still there?'

'When I left it was still there but I don't know about now...'

'Damn...'

They were snapped out of their musings when an officer ran over to them.

'Commander, Vice Commander!'

'What is it?' Hijikata snapped.

'We've received reports that the Palace is being attacked by the Jouishishi!'

'WHAT?!' Kondo and Hijikata stood up.

'What are your orders, sirs?'

'We need to regroup. We've suffered too much to put up a suitable defence!' Hijikata bemoaned. He turned to the officer.

'Who are the attackers?'

'Onlookers claim to have seen both Takasugi and Katsura at the helm of the attack.' Came the reply.

Gintoki stood up silently, his eyes wide in realisation. Kagura and Shinpachi turned to him, surprised.

'Gin-san?'

'Gin-chan?'

'That idiot...'