Holy crap, at least two people left positive reviews on the first chapter. That was two more than what I expected! Here's chapter two!
Silver Moon – Book 1 Chapter 2
Tsukuyo sat in silence in the decorated living room. How could I have forgotten? I feel horrible. She looked around the room, staring at all the decorations she had just help set up. For some reason, it only filled her with a sense of dread. I feel bad now but it will only be worse when the time comes and Seita actually learns the truth.
She imagined his face, all sad and disappointed. He'll probably think I didn't care enough to get him something. It's not really about the present; it's really about who it came from. It shows that they care about you. He'll think I don't care about him she kept thinking over and over.
Suddenly, Shinpachi and Kagura interrupted Tsukuyo's thoughts as they walked into the room. They were carrying the gifts that Hinowa had bought for Seita.
"Where should we put these, Tsukuyo?" asked Shinpachi.
"On the table is fine," she replied. The other two could still tell that she was upset with herself.
"Are you ok, Tsukky?" asked Kagura as she set down the present in her hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, not wanting to let them know how bad she still felt.
"It will be okay. Seita's a good kid. He'll understand," said Shinpachi, trying to help Tsukuyo feel better.
"I hope so," she said. For some reason, she just couldn't shake her negative thoughts. She could only think of how she had failed as an older sister figure.
Kagura looked around the room. "Where is Gin-chan?" she asked.
Shinpachi was curious too. "He said he was bringing in our gifts from the front, what could be taking so long?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Gintoki shouted from the front. He then appeared holding all three of the Odd Jobs' gifts. He set them down on the table with the others. He then looked over at Tsukuyo and noticed that she wasn't following his advice.
"I thought I told you to cheer up. You're going to ruin the party," he told her.
Tsukuyo sighed. He's right. I need to stop acting so gloomy and cheer up for the sake of-
"Honestly, are you going to be a bitch all night?"
"I'M NOT A BITCH!"
For the third time that day, Gintoki had once again managed to earn another kunai in his temple. Gintoki was actually happy with himself, and gave Tsukuyo a smile to show it. "Good, it looks like you're back to normal," he said. "Now try not to be a bitch until the party is over, ok?"
"You're such an ass, you know that?!" she growled.
Gintoki looked concerned. "Calm down. If you're this upset during the party, you'll probably scare the poor kid."
"I'll behave during the party so just shut up!" she screamed.
He smiled again, showing that he was satisfied with her answer. Or maybe he was just happy that he managed to work Tsukuyo into a frenzy.
Why does he like to piss me off so much? she wondered. I can't stand him sometimes. Can't he tell that I'm upset about-
She paused. She suddenly realized that Gintoki's comments had actually taken her mind off of her dilemma. Tsukuyo looked at him, watching him pull the kunai out of his head as he looked at himself in a mirror. I can never tell what he's up to she thought.
Suddenly, the room went silent at the sound of the front door opening. Gintoki took a quick peek into the front. "They're here!" he whispered.
It was time. Hinowa and Seita had finally come home and it was time to start the party. The group of four rearranged themselves so they were standing next to each other. The moment Seita walked into the room, they would all wish him a happy birthday.
"Everyone smile!" Gintoki said. "Let's greet the birthday boy with happy faces. That includes you, Tsukuyo."
"Shut it."
A few seconds later, the young boy known as Seita walked into the room. His face started to light up as he looked at all the decorations.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEITA!" everyone shouted.
"Oh wow," he said with a big goofy smile. He kept looking around the room, trying to take it all in. He noticed that the Odd Jobs gang was there, just like he had hoped. "Gin-san! I'm so happy you guys could come!" he said.
He started looking around the room again, but he suddenly looked back at Gintoki. His smile had disappeared, and he had a look of worry on his face. "Um, Gin-san, your face is bleeding," he said.
Gintoki put a hand on his bleeding wound, covering it up. By doing that, he managed to stop the flow of blood for the most part. Nevertheless, he still had blood running all over his face. "Don't worry about it," he said.
"Um, ok?" said Seita, not quite sure whether he should be concerned or not.
Hinowa wheeled herself out from the front into the living room. She gave a big smile as she looked at what a good job the group had done.
"Doesn't it look great, mom?" asked Seita, starting to get excited again. He could hardly believe this was all for him.
"Yes, it looks wonderful," she said. "Did you say thank you to them yet?" she asked, taking on her motherly role.
"Oh, right. Thanks you guys!" he shouted.
"No problem," said Shinpachi. "Tsukuyo was the one who planned all this," he added, trying to help her out.
Tsukuyo smiled when he said that. He's making it seem like I set all this up. He's trying to make me look good to Seita so he won't be as disappointed with me later. Thank you, Shinpachi.
"Hey, we did most of the work," blurted out Gintoki, not even caring about what Shinpachi was trying to do. He was currently trying to wipe his bleeding face off on the living room curtains.
"Gin-san, please don't do that to my curtains," said Hinowa.
Tsukuyo glared at Gintoki, once again upset with him. Couldn't he tell Shinpachi was trying to help me out by saying that? Does he really need attention that badly? He couldn't just let me take the credit to help myself feel better? No, he couldn't. He had to be an asshole and make me feel bad.
Gintoki looked up from the curtains to notice that not only Tsukuyo, but also Shinpachi and Kagura were glaring at him. "What?" he asked innocently. "It's true. She couldn't have done all of this without our help."
Tsukuyo was completely fed up with Gintoki at that point. She wished the night were over already so he would finally leave. He had pissed her off enough for one day.
"Oh, well thank you all for this great party," said Seita. He was trying to make it seem like they were all equally responsible for setting up the party. He didn't want to watch them fight over something like this all night long.
An awkward silence fell on the room. Tsukuyo, Shinpachi, and Kagura were still staring at Gintoki while Seita and Hinowa looked at them, not sure what was going on.
"How about we get started on the cake?" suggested Gintoki, hoping to draw the attention back to the party.
"That sounds like a good idea. I'll go get it ready," said Hinowa, trying to ease the tension in the room. "Are you hungry, Seita?"
"Oh yeah, let's get some cake!" he shouted. He ran into the kitchen with Hinowa following behind. The group of four was left behind, still standing in silence.
"Well, I hope you're happy Gin-san," said Shinpachi, clearly disappointed. "Let's go, Kagura."
"Right, I'm starving," she said. They both made their way out of the room and into the kitchen.
Gintoki was starting to feel worried. Why are they so pissed off? What did I say? He looked over at Tsukuyo to see that she was looking away from him, clearly upset.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. "Was it what I said earlier? You're not upset about that are you?"
Tsukuyo still didn't want to deal with him. "Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you," she said coldly. Without even looking at him, she started to make her way out of the room.
"Hold on," he said, not wanting her to leave because she was mad at him. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm to stop her.
"Don't touch me!" she shouted as she snatched her arm out of his grasp.
"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to sound innocent. He wanted to find out why she was so mad at him. Especially since he felt like he hadn't done anything to deserve it.
"Can't you tell I'm upset with you?" she snapped. She started to glare at him again, but then stopped and took a deep breath. After she managed to calm down a little, she turned away from him and started walking towards the kitchen again. "Just leave me alone, ok?" she said, bringing the conversation to an end.
As she exited the room, Gintoki just stared after her. "Damn it, what is she so pissed about?" he asked himself. "I just wanted a little appreciation for my help, that's all. Sheesh."
He looked over at the pile of gifts that currently sat on the table. He turned back around and started walking to the kitchen to join the others.
She'll get over it he thought to himself.
When Gintoki finally joined them, they were ready to begin. Hinowa had placed and lit all of the birthday candles on the cake. They all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Seita and he blew out his candles. After that, Hinowa cut up the cake and made sure everyone received a piece. Once they were sure that everyone had received some, Kagura and Seita helped themselves to the rest of the cake, finishing it in minutes. After they had all finished, they moved back to the living room. It was time to open gifts.
Tsukuyo took a deep breath to try to ease her nervousness. It's time she thought.
Seita started with Hinowa's gifts at her request. Tsukuyo watched him open each gift with exciement, followed by the satisfaction of a new toy. He looks so happy she thought. I hate to be the one to disappoint him, but it's my own fault. I need to take responsibility for my mistakes.
With each new present opened, Tsukuyo just became more and more nervous. It was like a countdown until he realized that a present was absent, her present for him. Damn it, I just wish tonight was over already. I just want to skip past the disappointment and go to bed so I can forget everything that happened today.
Seita had finished opening the last of Hinowa's gifts. After he had thanked his mother, he went to grab his next gift from the table. There were three presents left, one from each of the Odd Jobs crew. Seita carefully looked over all of them, trying to decide which one should be opened next.
He suddenly made a decision as he was looking. "I know, I should open big sis Tsukuyo's gift next!" he said in delight.
Tsukuyo froze. Shit! He's looking for a gift from me! She had expected him to open all of the gifts before he found out that one was missing. She didn't think he would go looking for one from her.
Well, here we go she thought. It was time to tell him the truth. She was about to open her mouth when Seita surprisingly picked up a present from the table and sat down with it.
What's he doing? she wondered. Why did he pick up that gift? Doesn't he know it's not from me? Maybe he got so excited and just grabbed a gift thinking its mine?
She decided to stop him. "Um, Seita, that gift isn't from me," she said truthfully. She didn't want to take a gift away from someone else. It wouldn't be fair.
Seita looked confused. "What are you talking about? Of course it's from you. It has your name on it, see?" He held the tag on the gift up so Tsukuyo could clearly read it.
To Tsukuyo's surprise, it actually said 'To Seita, From Tsukuyo'. "Oh, you're right," she said, not really sure what to think. What's going on? I know I didn't get him something. She looked over to Kagura and Shinpachi as Seita began opening the mystery gift. They were both looking at her with surprised looks too. They didn't know what was going on either.
"Tsukky," Kagura whispered, "I thought you said you didn't get him anything."
"I didn't…" Tsukuyo whispered back. She was now watching Seita finish unwrapping his gift to reveal a cardboard box. He opened the box and lifted out what was inside.
"Oh cool!" he cried. In his hand was a small robot toy. It had a wind-up key on its back and a button on its front. When he pushed the button, the robot's eyes shined on him like a flashlight. "Wow it's so bright!" he said. "This is so cool, thank you Tsukuyo!"
"Um, you're welcome, Seita." Tsukuyo was still confused. She decided to keep pretending like she had given him the toy for the sake of his happiness. Nevertheless, she still wanted to find out what exactly had just happened.
Tsukuyo looked around at people in the room with her. Was it Hinowa? Did she buy something for Seita for me? She entertained the thought of that actually being true before she denied it. No, Hinowa wouldn't have known that I forgot. No doubt that she would be willing to help me out in this situation, but she couldn't have known. It would have had to be someone who had known. That means…
She looked back at the three Odd Jobs members. It was one of them. They're the only ones who knew. She looked at Shinpachi and Kagura. They were currently watching Seita open the presents they had given him. Those two seemed surprised that Seita had received a gift from me, so it wouldn't have been them. That leaves…
She glanced over at Gintoki, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was also watching Seita open the last of his gifts.
No way she thought. There's no way that asshole would help me out. Why would he? It was someone else. It had to have been.
Once Seita had finished opening all of his gifts, he sat down and looked over them all. He had received a couple from his mother, the mystery one from Tsukuyo, one from Shinpachi, and one from Kagura. He calculated all of this in his head and realized he was one short.
"Hey, wait a minute," he said. "Gin-san, didn't you get me anything?"
"Huh?" he asked, acting like he wasn't paying attention. "Oh right. You see, Seita, I did buy you a gift."
"Really?" he asked, hoping he was lucky enough to get one more present.
"Yep. But I sold it," said Gintoki.
"What?"
Gintoki began scratching the back of his head. "Yeah… you see, I was going to give you your present, but I ended up deciding that I'd rather use the money for gambling instead. I figured I could hit it big and get you an even better present than the one I already had gotten you. So I sold it."
Seita was listening very closely to the story, wondering whether Gintoki was actually going to give him something or not. "And did you win?" he asked.
"I don't think you need to hear what happened after that," said Gintoki, looking a little embarrassed.
"…You lost, didn't you?" Seita asked.
"Whether I won or lost all the money isn't important," he said. "The important thing is that I was able to show up at your party and entertain you. So be grateful, you little brat."
"Ok, I guess?" said Seita, not really sure what Gintoki was getting at. All he knew was that Gintoki had failed to get him anything. Although, he was not that surprised to hear that. He was dealing with Gintoki after all.
Tsukuyo was still thinking about what Gintoki had just said. Is that story true? She decided to lean over to Kagura and ask her something. "Kagura, did Gintoki have a present for Seita with him when he came here today?"
Kagura was also looking at Gintoki, thinking about the story herself. "Yeah, he did," she replied. "I'm trying to figure out when he sold it and went gambling though."
Tsukuyo stared at Kagura with a look of confusion. Don't tell me she actually believed that story she thought. Anyway, she says Gintoki had a present with him when he came here today. He was here at the house with me all day, so I know his story can't be true. And now, he doesn't have a gift to give, but there is one from me. It was him. It had to be. He gave Seita his present under my name she finally figured out.
Tsukuyo looked at Gintoki again. He was just standing there picking his nose without a care in the world. Tsukuyo didn't know what to think. She was still a little confused as to what happened. Why would he do that? He's been an asshole to me all day, why would he help me out now?
She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't think right then was a good time. She wanted to get him alone with her and ask him why he had helped her out. Tsukuyo kept staring at Gintoki, waiting for him to notice her. She wanted to give him a signal that she wanted to talk, but for some reason it seemed like Gintoki was trying to avoid looking at her.
What the hell is he doing? Is he ignoring me? She kept looking at him, only to confirm her suspicions. It definitely seemed like he was trying to look anywhere but Tsukuyo's direction. He is ignoring me. Why is he doing that? Whatever, I'll just go up and ask him to talk. He won't be able to ignore me then.
However, before she could follow through with her plan, it seemed like the birthday party was moving on. Seita was trying to round up everyone to play games with him, meaning she would have to put her plan on hold for now.
Tsukuyo looked back at Gintoki one more time. I have to get him alone she thought. Before the night is over I will get him alone and talk to him. With her goal in mind, she decided to go along with the party and wait for her opportunity.
Gintoki: Well, now that the chapter is over, let's discuss some things.
Author: Like what?
Gintoki: Let's discuss all the ideas you stole from other authors and their stories.
Author: What? I never stole anything. I came up with this story all by myself.
Gintoki: That's a lie. You stole.
Author: No I didn't! Honest!
Gintoki: Really? How about the idea of a birthday party? You certainly stole that idea.
Author: Who did I steal that from? (Not that I stole.)
Gintoki: You stole it from 'Promises Should Always Be Fulfilled' by DanTE1203.
Author: Ok, so that story has a birthday party in it. That doesn't mean I stole the idea. Besides, the birthday party in that story is thrown for Tsukuyo, not Seita.
Gintoki: Is that so…
Author: Yes, I came up with it on my own. That's the truth.
Gintoki: Fine, what about this segment?
Author: Huh?
Gintoki: This segment where you and I and talk after the chapter. You stole it from 'kunai and samurai' by Jette666.
Author: I'm pretty sure the readers have no idea who these people are…
Gintoki: So you did steal it.
Author: Of course not! A lot of Gintama fanfics involve the author and characters interacting. It's a classic trait of Gintama.
Gintoki: Ok, but this segment is exactly like that one though…
Author: Ok, so maybe that one influenced me, but that doesn't mean I stole the idea, right?
Gintoki: I'm not entirely convinced.
Author: Besides, both of those stories are over anyway so it's ok to steal ideas from them.
Gintoki: Say what!? He just said it! He just said he stole from them!
Author: Once again, feel free to leave a review and look forward to the next chapter!
