Chapter 11: Before you offer to do something, think it through carefully

Sakamoto and Mutsu left soon after they all finished the meal, Kagura polishing off everything except for the small portion Gintoki has set on the side. She would have eaten that as well if he hadn't said it was for Katsura, who needed to eat healthy to gain his strength back. Afterwards he sent Kagura on a walk with Sadaharu and Shinpachi out shopping. And when everything was quiet, he slipped into the bedroom, double checking that the curtains were drawn. The last thing he wanted was for the Shinsengumi to find out that he was harbouring a wanted terrorist due to a stupid overlooking of details or by accident.

Actually, the last thing he wanted was for the Shinsengumi to find out that he was harbouring a wanted terrorist. Full stop. And if they were really going to pass at random times, it would only be a matter of time before they'd find Zura out in the kitchen or lazing around on the sofa, he thought, turning to his wounded comrade.

He startled when he saw dark eyes looking back at him.

'Geez, you're gonna give me a heart attack. Were you awake all that time?' he asked, glancing at the uneaten onigiri and the empty fruit bowl. Katsura closed his eyes and sighed.

'Can you help me sit up?' he asked back quietly, ignoring Gintoki's question. He complied wordlessly, taking care to not jostle the wounded arm. 'I might have managed alone, except I can't feel my right arm at all and I'm afraid to act too boldly and ruin your wound dressing efforts,' Katsura added.

'Tatsuma seems to have some good stuff in his medicine cabinet. You got a powerful, local anaesthetic and also some kind of fancy bandage that is supposed to protect an open wound and speed up the recovery,' Gintoki answered the unasked question. 'I'm sure he has an instant hang over cure and that damned second in command of his didn't bring it on purpose. She can discipline her own captain all she wants, but why do I need to be caught in the fall-out?' he grumbled. 'Oi, that's no laughing matter,' he added when Katsura uttered a breathless laugh.

'How did you find me?' the rebel asked, straightening the covers on his knees. Gintoki picked up the plate of onigiri and gave it to him. 'Thank you.'

'Accident,' he muttered unhappily. It made his blood run cold to think what could have happened if Sakamoto hasn't been the incurable idiot he was, or if they or Katsura have chosen a different roof. 'You're damn lucky that Sakamoto's still a star loving idiot and your favourite Gin-san has a soft heart for stupid desires, like watching stars from the rooftops,' he added, making his displeasure clear. Katsura huffed.

'More like is a cheap asshole who'd go anywhere if promised free food or booze,' he countered mockingly and Gintoki decided to not argue the point for once. Especially since Katsura looked down and whispered seriously: 'All the same, I owe you. When I was escaping I had no time to consider going down afterwards. Well, I haven't realized the extent of injury either, you know: adrenaline and all that.'

'Damn right you owe me,' Gintoki growled, ignoring the explanation, even though he knew exactly what Katsura was talking about. 'And next time you get stupid ideas like that, instead of coming to get help I'm going to personally bash your head in,' he threatened and Katsura had the decency to not laugh at his own inconsistency. 'Mind you, I'll do it in such a way that your new fangirl doesn't notice. She gives the impression of wanting to protect you rather fiercely. Did you seduce her?' he asked.

'Gintoki,' Katsura hissed. It was funny how he could still convey the feeling of intense reproach in something as simple as somebody's name. Or maybe he could just read his friend far too well, he thought and said nothing. Katsura didn't seem inclined to continue the conversation either and, for a moment, Gintoki watched him eat slowly. It felt uncomfortably similar to a number of occasions during the war, although admittedly it had more often been him heavily wounded.

'Do you know anything about Takasugi's moves?' he asked at length. Katsura paused, glanced at him and then looked away, putting the half-eaten onigiri down on the plate. He ignored it when Gintoki told him to keep eating.

'Do I really need to tell you who was handling the intelligence on the Kiheitai?' he asked back tiredly. Gintoki winced: of course, it made sense. Then he remembered whom he was talking with and had to wonder whether they meant the same person after all. For all he knew it could have been that alien duck thingy and Katsura was making such a face for a completely different reason, like the fact that the plum filling of the onigiri was not as perfect as it could be.

'Ito,' he stated to make sure they were on the same page. Katsura nodded.

'Alma told me he was always Takasugi's agent,' he said with distaste, which, Gintoki knew, was mainly directed against himself. It was hardly surprising, both because it was Katsura and because it was a shitty situation. With a sigh, Katsura continued: 'Even if I wanted to work without him now, I assume all the spies I had in the Kiheitai are long dead now and the information I've been getting was false.'

'He really got you this time,' Gintoki muttered, meaning Takasugi. He was vaguely aware of the competition between Katsura and Takasugi going on, as well as their efforts to keep tabs on each other. Supposedly, the presence of Ito in Katsura's faction was not aimed at removing Katsura's spies, but it had worked to that end as well.

'Shut up, Gintoki,' Katsura replied, but the statement carried neither force nor venom. Instead, Katsura sounded tired and defeated and Gintoki felt bad for him. However, he knew better than to offer false reassurance. Instead he leaned over and handed Katsura the cold tea.

'Eat. I'll find your alien duck and give it the info,' he offered. Katsura looked at him with wide eyes, his expression so surprised and disbelieving Gintoki wanted to hit him. It took all of his self-control not to. 'Anything else you want to pass on?' he asked instead. Katsura kept looking at him, mute in shock.

'I don't want to put you at risk,' he said finally, making it sound like he couldn't believe Gintoki was offering help. Who the hell did that idiot wig-head take him for?

'Shut up, Zura. I'm still pissed you haven't come here right away, don't think I've forgiven you that, he growled. Katsura laughed quietly. 'Tatsuma's back on his ship, trying to see if there is anything he can find out about Kiheitai's moves. And, by the way, our dear friend is on the Earth's orbit, or at least was yesterday, when the Kaientai has descended,' he added. Katsura's eyes widened.

'He is?' he asked and then pursed his lips into a tight line. He considered the news for a while. 'That's not a good sign, Gintoki.'

'Wouldn't have figured that out myself,' Gintoki muttered. Then he remembered about Bansai and what else he needed to ask from Zura and decided to forego silly arguments for a while. 'Was Ito handling all of your intelligence? You have some spies in the Yakuza, don't you?' he asked. Zura repeated the name. Gintoki nodded and explained: 'I saw Bansai Kawakami the other day, very obviously sealing a deal with a thug whose ugly face screamed he's from Yakuza.'

'It depends on the group,' Katsura sighed and it took Gintoki a moment to realize he was actually answering his question. 'And no, Ito was not handling that part. Perhaps we can figure out what Takasugi wants from what he has asked of the Yakuza. I need to-'

'You need to stay here and rest,' Gintoki said firmly. He grabbed Katsura's good arm and forced the idiot terrorist to stay seated when he wanted to get up. Katsura glared at him and he glared back. 'This is no time to do reckless things, like going out when you're in no shape to do it.'

'This is no time to wait idly,' Katsura countered. And while he did have a point, Gintoki was not stupid. His friend needed to rest and regain his strength after having bled way too much to be healthy. Besides:

'This is no time to risk getting arrested and missing all the fun,' he pointed out. With his arm pretty much out of commission, Katsura would be hard-pressed not only to fight against the Shinsengumi, should he meet them, but also to escape efficiently. And he knew that, Gintoki thought when Katsura huffed with annoyance and looked away.

'Fine,' he all but spat. 'Odd Jobs, I'll hire you to be my messenger. I'll pay you in parfaits, sukonbu and-' he trailed off and looked at Gintoki questioningly. Gintoki shrugged, grinning. He wasted no time stating that his wages in parfaits equalled to a yearlong payment, divided into weekly instalments. Katsura nodded in agreement, keeping the most serious of expressions, as though Gintoki was not joking. Well, half-joking. Or maybe just a little bit joking. Or was he joking?

'So who do you need me to find?' he asked, deciding to stop the stupid thought process. This was no time to wait idly, as Katsura has said. Although Gintoki didn't quite believe the Kiheitai was on their way down, he couldn't rule out the possibility. Of course, if they were already descending then it was too late to do whatever.

Katsura sighed and closed his eyes. Gintoki waited for a moment before a thought that he has gone to sleep crossed his mind and he poked the other. And no, Katsura hasn't gone to sleep. He looked at Gintoki questioningly and Gintoki returned the look: he was the one asking questions here! It seemed to take a moment for Katsura to understand.

'Find Elizabeth, she will know whom to contact,' he said finally. Gintoki was almost disappointed at the simplicity of the task. Before he could complain though, Katsura continued in a quiet voice: 'Tell her that we need to know what the Yakuza is up to and whether anybody has been in contact with the Kiheitai. Tell her I'm here but to not come under any circumstances. Arrange some neutral place to meet her and let her choose the delay,' his voice was barely audible before he hesitated and swayed the tiniest bit. Gintoki grabbed his good arm again and that seemed to wake Katsura up. 'Don't let it be longer than in three days. We need to hurry.'

'Right, I'll do that. You rest now,' Gintoki advised in a soft tone. Gently, but firmly, he pushed Katsura to lie back down. 'I'll wait till Kagura or Shinpachi come back and I'll go,' he added. As though on cue, the entrance door opened violently and Kagura's voice invaded the flat, informing all its occupants, and all the neighbours, that Kagura and Sadaharu were back from their walk. Gintoki smiled slightly.

He felt eyes on him and looked down to see Katsura staring with a knowing expression on his face. Completely irrationally feeling like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Gintoki dropped the smile in favour of his usual, bored expression. The corners of Katsura's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly, but the man said nothing, closing his eyes instead.

'I don't think I'll be able to cook tonight, sorry,' he muttered, sounding half-asleep already. Gintoki scowled at him, even though Katsura couldn't see it.

'Shut up, idiot,' he replied and left the bedroom, closing the door carefully behind himself. Outside, he instructed Kagura to not disturb Katsura and to not let anybody into the bedroom. He wasn't even sure if she listened, but it would probably be alright: the Shinsengumi wouldn't come twice during one day, would they? In any case, once he was outside, he met with Shinpachi, who was just coming back and he sure could count on Shinpachi to be reasonable.

Down on the street, he looked left and right and realized with a sinking feeling that he had no idea where to look for the alien duck. Well shit, he thought. It occurred to him that he should have asked Katsura where to look for the damned monster, but now it was too late. Going back now would equate to admitting defeat and he was sure Katsura wouldn't forget it easily.