**Spoilers for the second movie and episode 309**

Author's Note: Writing for Gintama characters is kinda hard. I'd wanted to write about these two for a while but didn't know how to approach it.

She sat on the edge of a cliff with her legs dangling over the edge, watching the roaring water rise and swell below her. On calm days, the water would gently lap against the side of the rock. But tonight the dark water threatened to consume the entire mountain. She'd always thought the mountain was impenetrable. But her observations taught her how it worked. Over time the waves would carve into the wall of rock, leaving a widening chasm.

The young woman had run away from the city. The one she'd sworn to protect. But even though she had no idea where she was now, she did not care to return. Crossing the threshold of her empty house ate away at her, and over the last two years she had gradually changed. Her hair. Her speech pattern. Her family-

"Finally found you, China."

A blade sliced through the air. Without turning, Kagura casually swung her purple umbrella over her left shoulder. The sword pressed the umbrella against her neck. She'd caught the sharp edge almost as a form of greeting.

"I'm not in the mood, sadist."

"Neither am I. Looking for you ruined my entire weekend." Sougo took in their surroundings and placed the sword back at his side, unsheathed. "What the hell have you been doing out here?"

She held up a small book. It appeared to be a diary or log. He took it from her hands. The writing became progressively more scrawled as he read further. Some of the pages had been stuck together with chocolate syrup too. There was no mistaking who the original owner of this book was, then. Sougo flipped through it for a few moments until she spoke.

"Gin-chan is out there somewhere. He can't be dead. But Odd Jobs…" She trailed off, fixing her stare on the ocean once more.

He said nothing, and watched her tug at the dark grass beneath her fingers. Since Gintoki's disappearance two years prior, the Odd Jobs family had drifted. No one had realized that all of them had been tethered together by a single man. Those lines turned out to be fragile. And now the disease plaguing Edo threatened to destroy all of the debris left floating behind. She continued with her knees pressed against her chest. "…I don't want to stay on this world alone anymore. Maybe it's time for me to leave too."

Something in Sougo snapped. Almost audibly. It was the only warning she got before finding herself on the floor with his foot digging into her shoulder.

"You're pathetic." A red blaze flickered behind his normally listless eyes.

"You think I came here because I wanted to? The boss lady went frantic over you. She told Kondo-san to find you, and he sent me. And now you're telling me a brat like you can't get by without Boss holding your hand?" He punctuated his question by stepping harder.

"H-hypocrite!" She sputtered. The pain threatened to crush her collarbone completely. "You're the same with that gorilla!"

"That's why I know, China." He kneeled, though his foot was still on her shoulder. "Even if he's gone, it doesn't change the fact that you're Odd Jobs." She looked him eye to eye for the first time since he appeared and stopped struggling. "Anything you do from now on is part of that. Learn to follow your own damn advice."

Despite herself, she found a cheeky grin threatening to surface. It had been so long. He tossed the book towards her face and she caught it.

"Are you trying to cheer me up right now?" She mocked.

"No." He replied with a faint smirk too, drawing his sword. "I just need you to stay in Edo so I can kill you myself."

She grabbed the purple umbrella on the ground beside her and jammed it towards his gut. He blocked, but she used the distraction to grab his ankle and throw him towards the edge of the cliff. He used his sword as a brake to prevent himself from falling off the side. Using her legs, she propelled herself back onto her feet. Kagura stretched out the arm that he'd stepped on. She could already feel herself healing.

"I did not know you were so clingy, yes? It's kinda gross."

"All sadists are possessive." He informed her, brushing himself off. "Your boss was the same way. And why are you talking like an idiot again?"

The tethers had weakened, but they were not broken. There were still people on this world that would notice if she disappeared. Perhaps continuing to protect the city and those stubborn idiots that remained was the best way to carry out Gintoki's will.

This was the last bit of reflection Kagura had before she and Sougo proceeded to beat the crap out of each other.