For Freedom

~16 Years Later~

"Takarou!" A slightly petite girl ran through the Edo streets in an olive colored China dress. Her silver hair had two braids in the front.

"Kagi." A handsome grown man with slightly brown black hair looked to his girlfriend. He wore black pants with a white short sleeved dress shirt. She smiled softly, but then a drunken man touched her butt.

"BASTARD!" The couple kicked him both at the same time. Then, Kagi suddenly changed back.

"I'm sorry… I lost control again…" She sniffled.

"No, it's OK, I got mad too…" He hugged her tight as the people passed by. She snuggled her face on his chest.

"Come on, let's go! We've got a picnic today for watching the cherry blossoms!" She took him by the hand and they walked through the crowd.

"So… I heard your sister got married." A girl with dusty blonde hair in a ponytail moved her legs back and forth on a bench. She had a black puffy vest on and a black skirt with black leggings underneath, and black tennis shoes with white shoe laces. Chains hung around her waist, and gold two inch line earrings hung from her ears.

"Yeah… She's happy, so it's all good." A boy wore Gintoki's clothing, except the blue on the kimono was red. His hair was bright red, fluffy and spiky, his neck-length hair tied in the back, with an earring the same as hers.

"Tora… Someday we'll get married, right…?"

"Huh? It's not like you to talk about mushy stuff like that, Izuna."

"Stupid! I'm just thinking!" She punched him in the face, and he fell back. She picked up her motorcycle. "Come on. Let's get moving!" She motioned her hands with fingerless gloves on. Izuna was real tomboy.

"I got it, I got it…" He smiled and stood up. He jumped on behind her and they put on their helmets.

"Get ready!" She revved her handles. Even though she just got her license, she was pretty good damn at driving. The two zipped off.

"They should be almost here." 39 year old Kaede sat down on the picnic blanket with her 40 year old husband, Sougou. They hadn't changed much, just their appearance by a bit. Kaede's clothing had become more covering, with a long, deep purple long sleeved shirt and a long black skirt, all Chinese based, of course. Sougou wore a long dress shirt and black pants.

"Yeah… Hey… Isn't it a bit weird?"

"Hm? What?"

"That Hijikata-san's kid and my kid both are in love with Kagura and Gintoki's kids…"

"It IS a little ironic…"

"But in Japan, cousins can marry, so it's fine…"

"Sougou, Izuna's only 16. She's got a while to go."

"I know." He kissed her softly.

"Hey, sorry to be late." Hijikata was in a man's traditional kimono. He had grown out his hair again, like he had when he was a teen.

"We were picking up some sake." Otae approached in her pink kimono with a bottle of rice wine.

"Ooh, high brand. I never knew you could afford that." Sougou said dully.

"YOU THINK I'M A PAUPER OR SOMETHIN'?!" Hijikata barked at Sougou. The women giggled.

"Hey, you guys!" 41 year old Kagura waved her hand, seeming still as young as ever.

"Yo." Age 48 Gintoki raised his hand out of his man's kimono.

"You two look so young still… How do you do it?"

"We fake it!" They high-fived and laughed. Sweat drop. They were a perfect team.

"Hey Gintoki, where are my grandchildren?!" Raizou said loudly, now about 60.

"And where's MY bet money from 16 years ago?!"

"Bet money…?" He played dumb.

"You know what I mean! Tora was a boy, so give me the money!"

"Come on you guys, later!" Kagura giggled, "Look… The cherry blossoms are so pretty…" They all looked up, and the children quietly sneaked into the watching. The lovers snuggled up against their other's shoulder.

"Kanade… Even though you may be gone, you're always with me. I'm keeping things good down here."

"Raizou… I'm always watching over you, my dear… I wish for your happiness."

"Sougou… I've found the place where I belong… In your arms."

"Kaede, I want to hear your song with a smile for eternity."

"As long as you're here with me, Toushi… That's all I need."

"I want you, the person who believes in me, to stay with me. I want to keep you happy, Otae.

"The one person in the world who understands me… Is you. Let's be together forever, Gin."

"This girl is so important to me… Kagura, you're my family… You're my life."

And so… They all obtained true happiness… At the end of their fight for freedom.

THE END

Aw, that's the end! How did you like it? Too many flashbacks and time skips? Maybe, but I liked it! Oh, and too many births. I'm drawing all the characters grown (only to about 25 or so), so stay tuned! …I can't draw guys well, though, so it probably will take longer for them. Kaede's finished, Otae's finished, and Kagi's finished. Look forward to the others! So basically, Izuna is Kaede and Okita's daughter. She's kind of a punk. I really like her design. I'm going to draw her next… Anyone who wants links to the pictures, email me at…

m e w p u d d i n g 1 0 1 e a r t h l I n k . n e t

By the way, they got pretty old, huh? That kinda sucks, but I wanted Tora to be at least 16, and Izuna 15, so I had to age Takarou and Kagi, and that was fine, but then… The rest of them got old. But that's OK, because their youth will remain in my heart forever! (extremely cheesy)

I hope you'll stay with me for the next story if you're interested! I'm going to try to finish all my unfinished fics, but I'm not doing anymore Gintama. Why? Well, um… I got all my pairings in one shot… That's not a oneshot. XD