-Playing with Fire-

--Ignition--

"Oi, Zura, you still smell like a girl," Gintoki muttered rather moodily as he crept down a back alley and around the corner of another warehouse, accompanied by none other than Edo's friendly neighborhood terrorist. It figures that I'd be the one to get dragged along on another of Zura's glory-trips. . . Gin's patience was already worn ragged, as he'd gotten a negligible amount of sleep the night before, woken up with a hangover, and missed the release of Jump in the morning. That was the icing on the cake. Not to mention the fact that Ketsuno Ana had predicted today would be a record-setting scorcher of a summer day. Heat has knack for grating on people's nerves the way that sand sticks to you at the beach. No matter what you do, you can't escape its evil clutches. . ., Gin mused crossly. Gah, the heat's already getting to me!

"It's not 'Zura'; it's 'manly Katsura'!" Zura snapped back, feeling a little testy himself.

As a result of Gintoki's incessant protests and dawdling, Katsura had them running just barely on schedule with the mission's timetable. A couple hours previously, the pair had succeeded in disabling the latest shipment of Amanto firearms, having sneaked into the main warehouse and spent the better part of the morning shoving bubblegum up the barrels and into the cylinders of some 300-odd pistols. However, if they didn't hurry, they were certain to miss the timeslot for the appointed rendezvous with the other Jouishishi members in the area. Past noon, which was rapidly approaching, the warehouse district was swamped with guards and workers who facilitated the loading of the cargo into distributor trucks to be transported around Edo.

If everything proceeded smoothly and without any subsequent "necessary" side-trips involving the acquiring of strawberry milk, then Katsura, Gin, and the other Jouishishi members could simply maintain their presence under the radar once they escaped the warehouse district. The next step of the plan involved avoiding the Shinsengumi on their midday patrol through Kabuki-chou and the surrounding area of the city. After clearing that minor obstacle, they'd be home-free.

"Calm down, would you? You're just upset that the convenience store was sold out of Akamaru Jump."

Gin stopped dead in his tracks.

"It's not 'Akamaru Jump'! It's 'Jump'! A real man would know that anyway!"

Gin smirked, especially proud that he'd beaten Katsura at his own game.

Katsura twitched. He was forced to backtrack a few steps to close the distance between them, lest they be separated and eventually forced to abort the little operation. Then again, it was possible that Katsura's thought process had developed into so many details, but his immediate objective seemed to be bringing Gintoki within range and fixing him with the iciest glare manageable under the circumstances. Just because I required a bit of freelance assistance to reach the next stage of the New Dawn of Japan Plan—NDJP for short—doesn't mean I have be the butt of all the insults he can muster!

"Gintoki. . .," Katsura whispered harshly.

"I bet it's your shampoo. What else could it be? Didn't your father ever tell you that prolonged exposure to flowers can turn men into women?!"

"Gintoki!" Zura hissed, seriously wondering if his companion intended to blow their cover. In fact, he was questioning his sanity for asking Gintoki to tag along in the first place. Little did Katsura know that Gin was contemplating the exact same dilemma, genuinely doubting that there weren't at least a few loose screws in either (or both) of their heads.

I knew I should've gone easy on the sake last night. . ., Gin lamented.

After half an hour of ducking around corners, skirting piles of crates, and leaping over pools of sludge, Katsura and Gintoki finally reached the gate of the entrance to Kabuki-chou. Utterly spent, drenched in sweat, and coated in back-alley grime, they threw caution to the wind and took their chances with the guard at the gate. Gin pitched a rock in the opposite direction, drawing the guard's attention, while he and Katsura seized the fleeting opportunity to sprint through the gate and to sweet freedom. Fortunately, the rendezvous outside a nearby convenience store went smoothly, and all things considered, Gin could at last breathe a sigh of relief.

"Never again, Zura," Gin insisted as they wandered back in the direction of the Yorozuya. He was chalking his voluntary involvement in Katsura's ploy up to the vast amount of sake he'd imbibed last night. Screw rational thought.

"It's not 'Zura'; it's 'Katsura'," Katsura chimed back rather lamely, feeling the exhaustion and heat beginning to take their toll. He turned to Gin, a slight smile playing at his lips. "I suppose I should thank you, though, Gintoki."

"Damn right you should," Gin grumbled crossly, also smiling faintly despite himself.

"Fine," Katsura huffed. "I honestly couldn't have done it without yo—"

Gin stopped abruptly, throwing his arm out to prevent Katsura from taking another step.

"Not so fast, Zura. We've got company."

For not more than twenty feet up the street, returning Gin and Katsura's narrowed stares with equally shocked expressions, were Hijikata and Okita of the Shinsengumi.

Earlier that day. . .

"Ugh, another boring day of patrol duty. . .and with you, no less," Okita griped, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was obviously still miffed that Hijikata had rather rudely awoken him from his mid-morning nap. "And it's so hot!"

Okita turned to face Hijikata, his expression blank, as they strolled through the bustling streets of Kabuki-chou. The stagnant, oppressive heat shimmered off in the distance.

"Saa, Hijikata-san, wanna take a dip in the shark tank at the aquarium to cool off? I'll even let you jump in first."

Hijikata twitched visibly but managed to keep his temper in check by sheer force of will. Honestly, he could swear Kondou paired them together out of spite whenever they exceeded the acceptable quota of trouble and bickering. Even the normally unflappable Kondou had his limits.

Hijikata supposed that the fiasco last night at dinner had been the clincher. After Okita had mocked Hijikata's "abuse of mayonnaise" over the evening meal, Hijikata had sought just revenge by smothering Okita's rice in the thick white concoction. Okita had retaliated by snatching up a bottle of ketchup and squirting it not on Hijikata's rice, but on Hijikata himself. Their tactics resulted in an all-out war of mayo versus ketchup, with an unfortunate Kondou caught in the cross-fire. By the time Kondou had interfered and managed to wrestle his vice-commander and first squad captain apart from one another and their condiment ammo, the battle's three participants and the room itself were spattered and smeared with shades of white, red, and pink. Needless to say, Kondou's strained smile did not bode well.

Would you believe that the excuse, "Sougo started it," didn't seem to fly?

And so Hijikata and Okita found themselves in their current position, stuck out on the streets of Kabuki-chou in the miserable heat. Denying Okita's offer with a well-earned glare, Hijikata lit up a cigarette, allowing the familiar action to calm his nerves. Just when he'd managed to reconcile himself with the lousy day ahead, Okita's sharp words shattered even that scrap of peace.

"Hijikata-san, terrorist at one o' clock."

The cigarette fell from Hijikata's mouth.

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The Japanese phrases have been removed and replaced with English. See ya for chapter two!