Chapter 1 _

Hey guys, I'm back, sorry for the long leave of absence, hope ya'll like. Kiddies, unless you can stand mature topics don't read this. This is a general warning.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or Mushishi (though I wish I did )

The Yorozuya's mission had started like any other job, someone had stolen a rare artifact and now it was up to the Yorozuya to get it back. Should have been easy-peasy. Unfortunately, for Gin-chan and the gang, the pirates had set up everything, and they walked straight into their trap. Before they had a clue on what was happening, Amanto gassed, separated, and put them in neighboring cells. Gin awoke first, so the torture session had started.

Bright lights blurred his vision, but he could still see the silhouettes of his captures. All had the vaguely humanoid shape of the Amanto, save one. From what he could tell, it was an old man with a cane, but he was so doped up at that moment it could have been Elizabeth for all he knew.

He worked up the strength to speak, "who are you people?" Obviously, he knew who they were, not many Amanto hold up on a ship together if they could help it. That, and they exuded the pirate vibe, but he needed to see how deep the Yorozuya trio had step in it now.

Oh, they told him what he needed to know, all right. But it felt too easy, it was like they were confident that the three captives wouldn't leave alive. Just as the Harusame were getting rowdy the old man stepped out from the shadows quieting the rest of the bunch.

It was easy to tell that from his stature this man was once a warrior. His face was obscured by a hood and bandages, but awfully familiar red eyes shown through distinctly. He looked at Gin in contempt before speaking in a low gravelly voice, "He'll do." He then strode out of the room, motioning to all but one to leave the room.

A lizard like Amanto was all that was left, eyes twitchy and red from obvious opium addict, a good ol' earth drug, meant the bastard's reaction time was crap and he had a weakness. The two stared at each other for at least ten minutes before there was a knock at the door. The lizard man's lips pulled into a scaly smile. Like a snake hissing the grass he whispered, "The fun has arrived."

"Mommy always told me not to play with strangers." Being shackled to a wall meant he couldn't physically fight, but he was damned sure he'd piss him off. Instead of taking the bait, he just growled and pulled a cart from the doorway. The cart carried various torturing devices, he'd been a war, he knew what that meant. He conquered any fleeting moments of terror and stared at the Amanto straight in the eyes.

"The boss-man knows you connection to the Shinsengumi, plus you are Shiroyasha. Tell us what you know." True to his snake like appearance, the unnamed baddie enunciated the s's to a drawl hiss. They were after the Shinsengumi? Odd, they never had anything against Amanto affairs, so for the Harusame… "Takasugi. Your 'boss-man' is Takasugi Shinsuke, am I right? God, this feels like one of them game shows… Do I win anything, 'cause that'd be great. Preferably cash, thanks. " Lizard man smacked him across the mouth, silencing him. "You will bite your tongue, human."

"First you want me to talk; now you want me to be quiet. What do you want from me?" Gin wasn't being rash, he needed to make this a two-way interrogation. Though it seems the pirate wasn't fooled, in fact he was intrigued.

"You know, you'd make an excellent addition to the Harusame. I suppose captain would be happy to have you on board." That creepy old man? No thanks.

"I'd politely have to decline such a wonderful opportunity." He said with a mock bow, arms pulling stiffly at the shackles. His response was a sword cutting into his side; it seemed the pirate was done playing. Gin grimaced and made a slight yelp, but wouldn't dare give lizard man the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.

"Tell me about the Shinsengumi, Shiroyasha…" the swords tip played with his wound, twisting and poking. Sweat began to drip from his face, but he's felt worse. He gave a level glare at the bastard and quips, "Well there's the gorilla, the mayo-freak, and the sadists. No one has an idea what they are doing…" Gin was giving useless information they both knew that. Green and red eyes blinked exasperatedly at Gin's goofy expression. Still the pirate shuddered underneath his cold stare.

The Amanto walked to the cart, "let's make use of some of this shall we?" and pulled the cart closer, using mental torment of impending doom. He started with electrodes, attaching it to his chest and began the excruciating process of electrocution. After the fifth time or so, Gin let out a terrible scream, more than likely giving his comrades a good wake up call.

"How long will it take? Now tell me, what are the Shinsengumi's weaknesses? How do I get to Commander Kondo Isao, Vice-commander Hijikata Toushio, and 1st division captain Sougo Okita?" The man grinned at the animosity in his eyes that greatly contrasted from Gin's chained and battered body.

"Never….not a chance in hell, you bastard!" Gin was exhausted, but refused the very idea of endangering his friends and would rather die.

Frustrated, the twitchy pirate slammed the hilt of the sword into Gin's clavicle, rendering him breathless. He muttered about not wanting to use this, but Gin left him no choice. He snatched a seemingly empty vile. It either meant it could be a gas or even worse an air bubble in his blood stream. He plunged a needle into the vile and the seeming emptiness turned a sickly purple and red.

"You should have never crossed the Harusame, Shiroyasha; you will be of use to us one way or another." Lizard man grabbed Gin's arm, mildly dislocating it in the process, then stabbed the needle into crook of his arm, the effect was almost immediate.

"W-what have you-u done t-to me?" he gritted through pain; his tormentor gave him a wild smile.

"Like it? Boss calls these little guys 'Mushi', these little parasites control your body functions now, bucko. Though I not really sure which one I grabbed…hmmm…Oh the suspense is killing me!" Gin glared daggers at the man, who in return stood their picking his nails.

"D-daddy said, 'you shouldn't p-play with things that aren't yours, lizard man." He joked through gritted teeth, damn his arm hurt like a son of a-. He looked down at his arm, to his horror purple started traveling up his arm from the main vein traveling to other veins slowly enveloping Gin in pure agony as the serum now labeled as 'mushi' traveled in his veins burning everything in its path. The pain was enough to make him scream in agony for what felt like hours. Gin's vision started blacking out, due the prolonged torture.

"Can't have you falling asleep on me now. Tell me what I want to know." The man cackled as he grabbed another vile

Gin weakly gasped "…no." his pointless cries we met with another needle in his arm. This new concoction not only jolted him awake, but also made him fully aware of the pain his body was going through. Once the screams ceased, the once ferocious look in his eye was replaced by dull apathy.

"Oh looky here, has Gin-chan given up? How sad…" that lizard's tongue…if he could just grab it and yank it out of that snake's skull…

"Go die, freak" He was ashamed he couldn't muster anything better.

"Ouchie, that stings Gin-chan!" the psycho backhanded him, sending him face first into the wall.

"Now if only your little lady friend was just as fun…oh, don't worry we haven't done anything nasty, yet anyway." The assailant started walking out of the room.

"Don't touch her!" Gin bellowed, pulling his arms against his restraints. Purple veins bulging in their restraints, Gin's maroon eyes bled into a vibrant crimson. The hooded man stared in shock as the chains flew off the wall.

"Still have some strength left, eh? Come join us, become a pirate, and we'll let the little chickie and that Shinpachi guy go." Gin, weak from physical exertion, leaned up on the equipment table.

A pulse ran through his very soul, any feeling of a conscience fled, it was dark and vile but oh so exhilarating

"Like I said before…die." He hoisted the club that was on the table over his shoulder, with an insane smile covering his face he proceeded to swing at his torturer's face. The pirate crumpled to the floor, but Gin still swung the club at the man, brains and blood splashed on Gin's face.

The warm liquid only further fueled his rage, when the body stopped splashing up; he eventually came to his senses.

Gin fell back to the door; the insanity fell back to sheer terror at the mutilation he inflicted on the man. The man's head was gone, the remnants looks akin to a crushed pumpkin, but more green, grey, and pulpy.

The smell of blood and defecation filled his nose, causing raucous waves of nausea in his stomach. He lost the composure to keep his food down and emptied his entire stomach onto the floor. The acidic taste lingered in his mouth, temporarily allowing him to be numb to his current situation.

He stared at the body for some time, before he grabbed the keys off the dead man's trousers. He broke one of his only commandments, he'd originally had planned to escape during the night, but was no longer an option. He was going to need some major therapy after this is over.

He got up and weakly stumbled out of his cell. The hallway was quiet, not many pirates tend to hang around the dungeons while the interrogator does his magic.

One pirate had seen him come out of the cell; he pissed his pants and made a run for it. Gin didn't bother chasing after him—this was all too much.

"Hijikata!" The sound of a panicked Shinsengumi spy brought Hijikata's attention from his paperwork. "What?" Yamazaki nearly ran through the door getting in, he looked desperate.

"They have them." His cigarette dipped, and then fell. He clenched his teeth before pounding the table, "Dammit!"

"Get back over there and get them out alive, do you hear me?" Both men rushed out of the room to the armory.

Katsura looked at Elizabeth dumbfounded. Takasugi captured Gintoki and his companions? That was the last thing he thought could happen, Gintoki must have let his guard down. Either way, he needed to get over there and save his friends.

Looking through the grates in the door, he found Shinpachi's cell, he seemed unharmed save a couple bruises. He fumbled with the keys until one fit into the hole. The door pulled open with a slight tug of the door Gin rushed in, Shinpachi awoke to Gin barging into the room and falling. The keys had skittered to his feet and Gin wasn't getting back up, even if it looked like he wanted to.

"Gin-san!" he urged Gin to look at him. Glazed eyes peered upward at him, unrecognizing for a brief moment. A truly terrifying moment. He shakily managed to get to his feet and undo the shackles binding Shinpachi to the wall.

"Shinpachi…Get Kagura and run." The silver samurai wheezed. "The guards will be here soon probably. Hurry up and go." He started to fall and Shinpachi caught him before he hit the floor.

"No, G-gin-san. We are not leaving without you." Shinpachi cried, tears dripping onto his kimono.

"Fool…" Gin muttered while losing consciousness, Shinpachi hoisted him up onto his shoulders, but due to his height, Gin's feet still dragged across the floor.

'Stupid Aniki' Shinpachi sniffled as he made his way to Kagura's cell. There Kagura was struggling against the binds, unlike Shinpachi, she heard Gin's screams of agony, and she feared for her comrade's life.

Relief and fear washed over her as Shinpachi busted in her cell, she was relieved that they were both alive, but the tear stained face of Shinpachi and the blooded stained and battered body of Gin had enveloped her in a sense of dread.

Her nakama had been harmed, her family, some pirate bitches were going to pay. A dark look casted over face, Shinpachi snapped her out of her evil musings.

"Kagura we need to get out of here, and alert Shinsengumi! Come on!" She realized her chains we at her feet, she helped Shinpachi get Gin on to each other's shoulders.

They both held a rapid pace, briefly however they paused after passing what must have been Gin's cell. A bloodied club and katana rested on a cart, blood was painted across the back and sidewall. What looks to have been a lizard-type Amanto, though they weren't sure anymore, laying skull pulverized reaching towards the door.

Terror came over both of them; they had never seen their Gin-chan kill someone, let alone this grotesquely. Those disturbed thoughts vanished quickly after they heard moaning coming from the third party member, either he was coming around or he was really hurting. So they carried on.

They were surprised by the lack of security that the ship held. They ran up a flight of stairs, Kagura kicked open the door that had light seeping out.

The sun was almost blinding, even if they had been in there for only under a day. First thing that reached the duo was the sounds of fighting, swords were clashing on deck. Shinpachi noticed a dead pirate right by the door; he grabbed the sword from its corpse.

Somehow two adversary groups managed to meet up at the same time. Hijikata ran into the thick of things before he had chance to run into Katsura. Yamazaki, on the other hand, ran straight into him. They both decided to give up pursuit of each other for this day and fight as allies.

Things were going as swimmingly as to be expected. Joui and Shinsengumi managed to take out 30% of the fleet, but that only left the stronger fighters, and both parties were exhausted.

"Yamazaki-kun, run. I can't hold them off much longer. Unless backup comes, we are screwed."

"Senpai." Yamazaki sniffed as he held tight to katana. He was smacked hard on the back of his head.

"Not Senpai, it's Katsura, fool!" Yamazaki made a remark on how people never change. An explosion came from their right. Gathering their wits from the explosion, they saw Kagura in the kicking position where the door used to be. And Shinpachi instinctively grabbing a sword with an amazing ferocity.

"Leader-san, Shinpachi, Gin- wait, what happened to Gin?" Katsura asked pointing to the slumped form of his former comrade. It was made as a genuine concern but unfortunately came off a little air-headed.

"You know, the usual…kidnapping, torture…." Kagura growled at the space pirates. She sank into a crouching position setting Gin on the floor. "Get Gin-chan to a hospital. Now, please!" Kagura begged, clearly looking like she wasn't going to give up the fight and come with. Shinpachi nodded to Kagura, lifting his sword in time with her umbrella.

Several Harusame pirates paused to laugh at the children, but yelped out in surprise at their sudden charge. The two seemed much stronger than the last time either group had fought together. Shinpachi's swings came down harder and more fluidly, but he still managed not to kill. Kagura was a little less tactful in her attacks, but they had more force than they had ever seen. Even Okita stopped to admire their handy work before falling back into the fray.

The two spies stared in awe at the Yorozuya-boss's kids—nah, that man raised monsters instead of children. The two carried their injured friend off the battle field. Katsura looking at his old comrade noticed a smirk. "…those idiots, drinking all that strawberry milk…now I gotta' buy sum'ore." It sounded like a drunken slur, but the pride was unmistakable.

The moment of respite was brief; Gin's breath seemed caught in his throat. He gripped the sides of his head, in attempts to block whatever was hurting him. Gin's head shot up, his eyes were bright ruby red and seemed to bore into the two men. Yamazaki panicked as purple veins started bulging and dropped Gin to the floor, leaving Katsura tugging onto Gin's arm to keep him upright.

"Sorry, Boss." Yamazaki apologized to the groaning man on the floor.

"Just help me up." Gin wheezed out. Katsura and Yamazaki both lent a hand, they stared as the purple veins in his arms and face faded into practically non-existent red, and both sighed in relief as his eyes went from the intense red back to lazy maroon orbs.

"Can you not stare, it's a bit embarrassing." The two blushed and apologized. Gin got his bearings and started walking forward, but pain from his side stopped him in his tracks.

"Damn, worse than I thought." Gin gritted while holding his side. He tripped and fell to his knees.

"Boss!" Yamazaki nearly swore, shooting forward to keep the man from falling on his face.

"Gin-san!" Katsura, for once, seemed outwardly concerned about Gin's well-being.

"I'm fine, I'm fine… just a little tired." His friend wheezed and coughed heavily into his hand. Katsura wrapped an arm under Gin's arm to help him up, Gin yelped and Katsura retracted his hand out of reflex. He was just about to apologize, when felt wetness on his hand, he pulled it back, and crimson fluid coated his hand. There was way too much blood.

"Gin, stop lying, you're bleeding." Katsura said, then with a flick of his wrist at the back of Gin's neck, rendering him into unconsciousness.

End Chapter 1