Silver Moon – Book 1 Chapter 9
One Month Later…
Tsukuyo quietly walked through the streets of Yoshiwara as she lightly smoked on her pipe. She was currently on patrol and was simply keeping an eye on what was going on around her. The morning was sunny and peaceful, and it seemed like everyone in the city was enjoying the warm weather.
As Tsukuyo walked on, she allowed her mind to take a break from her job as she thought about Gintoki. She started thinking about all of the time the two of them had spent together in the last month. They had been able to sneak away on quite a few dates in the time that they had to themselves. It was surprising; each date that they went on had been something new and different. One day they went to the movies, one day they had a picnic, one day they went to the beach.
Tsukuyo smiled as she continued walking. It's been wonderful she thought. I've had such a great time being with Gintoki. He's really getting used to showing his sweet and caring side to me. He's hardly even pissed me off or anything. He's such a nice guy…she thought, starting to daydream a little.
Suddenly, she snapped out of her thoughts and focused on doing her job again. Once she made sure that nothing was going on in her current location, she started to think again.
We still haven't told anyone about us though. The few people that we did tell are still keeping it a secret. I wonder; how much longer are we going to put this off? Maybe we should talk about it the next time we get a chance.
Tsukuyo brought her thoughts to an end as she went back to focusing on her patrol.
A little later that day, Shinpachi and Kagura walked into the bar that sat below their workplace. Shinpachi appeared to be a calm and quiet mood while Kagura, on the other hand, seemed like she was upset about something.
Upon noticing that the two kids had entered her empty bar, the kind old lady known as Otose gave them a look of surprise. "You two again?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're back," said Shinpachi, taking a seat at the bar. Kagura went ahead and plumped down right next to him.
Otose continued to stare at them with surprise. "What, did Gintoki kick you guys out again?"
"Yeah," spat Kagura, "he's having another 'private phone call'. We're not allowed to be in the room."
Otose just sighed as she listened. For the past month, Gintoki had consistently forced Shinpachi and Kagura out of the house in order to make private phone calls. The two of them had managed to find refuge in Otose's bar whenever this happened, giving them a place to relax as they waited. Naturally, Kagura was upset that she had been sent out of the house so many times, but Shinpachi didn't seem to mind it. Perhaps it was because he knew the truth behind Gintoki's mysterious phone calls.
Otose looked at the kids with some sympathy. "Honestly, why does Gintoki insist on sending you two out of the house so much? Just what game is he playing?" she wondered.
"I don't know, but he's pissing me off!" shouted Kagura, starting to get angry. "He's been making these phone calls almost every day! And he never allows us to be anywhere near him when he does it! It's so annoying!"
Upon hearing the noise Kagura was making, Catherine and Tama walked out into the bar from the back room. "What's all the fuss about?" asked Catherine with a sneer. "Oh, it's you two again," she said, recognizing the bar's two new regulars.
"Has Gintoki-sama banished you again?" asked Tama with a kind voice.
"Yeah, another phone call," said Shinpachi.
"These phone calls are only the beginning of it," explained Kagura, still in a rage. "Gin-chan has been acting weird lately."
This new information seemed to catch the interest of Otose. "How so?" she asked, wanting to know more details.
"He's been disappearing on random nights and afternoons for several hours at a time," said Kagura. "And whenever he comes back, he never tells us anything. It's like he's trying to hide something from us."
"Really?" said Otose, her eyes widening upon hearing this. "I wonder…"
Everyone stared at Otose and realized that she might have figured something out. "Do you know something, Granny?" asked Kagura in excitement. "Tell me!" she shouted.
Otose folded her arms and looked kind of amused. "Well, I have a theory…" she said with a smile.
"Please tell me!" Kagura begged. "I want to know what Gin-chan's up to!" By now the others in the room were also very interested in what Otose was going to say.
Otose closed her eyes and continued smiling as she revealed her answer. "It's possible that Gintoki has managed to find himself a lover."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes widened in surprise, including Shinpachi's. They all had looks of shock on their faces as they had never imagined such a thing before.
"Gintoki-sama has found a machine to spend his time with?" asked Tama in wonder.
"That mop-head?" sneered Catherine. "No way, who would want to go out with an idiot like him?"
"Gin-chan likes a girl?" asked Kagura in surprise. "Are you sure, Granny? That's never happened before."
"Well, it is just a guess," said Otose, looking at the group around her. "But it would certainly explain everything that has been going on. When he's on the phone, he's actually talking to this girl. When he disappears, he's probably taking her out on dates," she explained.
As the others thought about the possibility of Otose's claims, Shinpachi simply sat there in silence with his mouth hanging open. She figured it out he thought. She doesn't realize it, but her guess is spot on. She knows exactly what Gin-san is up to.
Shinpachi continued to sit there without saying a word, starting to think about what he should do to handle the situation. I promised Gin-san that I wouldn't let his secret slip, but I can't help it if they figure it out on their own! What exactly should I do? I mean, I know I don't have any obligation to keep them from finding out, but is that the right thing to do? Should I just sit here and let them figure it out?
Shinpachi was now trying desperately to figure out a solution for both Gintoki and himself. I made a promise to him he thought. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone his secret. Gin-san wanted me to keep this secret for him no matter what happened. Even though I didn't agree to keep others from finding out on their own, maybe I should try anyway. After all, Gin-san wouldn't want all of these women to come knocking on his door wondering why he hasn't told them that he's seeing someone.
He paused for a moment before arriving at his answer. I'll do it he thought. I'll do my best to convince them that they're wrong. I don't want to hide this from them like you do, Gin-san, but for your sake I'll help you out. You'll owe me one for this.
Shinpachi immediately started listening to the conversation again. The others were currently talking about how likely it was that Otose's claims were true.
"I guess it could be possible," said Kagura slowly. It seemed like she was actually starting to believe that Gintoki was going out with someone.
Shinpachi suddenly joined in on the conversation. "Now, hold on a minute," he said. "We can't be sure that Gin-san is seeing someone. You're all just making assumptions right now. How do we know he's not hiding something else?"
Everyone looked at Shinpachi out of curiosity. "Like what?" asked Kagura.
Shinpachi was suddenly caught off guard. He hadn't thought that far ahead. "I don't know, it could be anything," he said. "All I'm saying is that we don't know for sure that he's dating someone. We shouldn't jump to conclusions."
"Well, what Granny said seems to make sense," said Kagura. "I can't think of anything else that would explain it."
The group went silent as they considered Shinpachi's words. "How do we find out what the truth is?" Catherine asked as she looked towards Otose.
Otose simply crossed her arms once again and sighed. "Well, I suppose you could just ask Gintoki if he's going out with someone," she suggested.
"You think he would give an honest answer?" asked Kagura with a look of doubt. "He'll probably just dismiss it like he has every time I've tried talking to him."
"That's true enough," admitted Otose. "If Gintoki hasn't told you what's been going on all this time, he's probably not going to do it now."
The room once again went silent as the group thought about how they could get the truth from Gintoki. Shinpachi decided to take the opportunity to calm them down and dismiss their claims.
"Maybe we should just keep quiet about it for now," he suggested. "I'm sure that Gin-san will tell us what's going on in his own time. Maybe he's just not ready yet. We should probably just wait for him to tell us the truth when he is ready."
Kagura slammed her fist down on the bar in front of her. "Screw that!" she shouted. "Gin-chan has been hiding this secret for a month already! He's had plenty of time to tell us what he's up to! I can't wait any longer, I want to know the truth right now!"
Otose gave the young girl an amused look. "And how exactly are you going to find out?" she asked out of curiosity.
Kagura smiled as she came up with an idea. "I'll just go around and ask everyone what they know. Maybe there's someone out there that knows what Gin-chan's secret is."
With a clear goal in mind, Kagura went ahead and hopped to her feet. She started making her way towards the door. "I'm off to go investigate, I'll let you know what I find out," she said.
Shinpachi watched her slowly walk out of the building in fear. "Wait! Kagura-chan!" he called after her. He immediately got to his feet and started running after her. "I'm coming with you!" he shouted.
As he caught up to her, Shinpachi realized what his priorities were. I can't leave her running around on her own he thought. I'll have to try and keep her from doing any damage with her new suspicions.
As the two kids walked out the door, the other three were left to think about the situation. Tama looked over to Otose and decided to ask her a question. "Otose-sama, do you really believe that Gintoki-sama has found himself a lover?"
Otose simply smiled to herself as she thought about the possibility of it. "It's certainly possible," she said," but honestly, I wouldn't mind if he was dating a girl. It would be nice if he could finally give me some grandkids."
Catherine looked at the old lady as if she were crazy. "You do know that that idiot isn't really your kid, right?"
Otose continued smiling as she answered her. "Come on now, can't you let an old lady dream a little?"
While Shinpachi and Kagura had been sitting in the bar, Gintoki had been talking to Tsukuyo on the phone. He had made sure that both of his workers had left the room beforehand. "So, what are you up to?" he asked Tsukuyo casually.
"Not much," she replied. "I just came home from work."
"I see," said Gintoki. "Do you have to go back later?"
"No, the Hyakka said that they could handle it. I have the rest of the day off."
"Interesting, do you have any plans for your day off?"
"Not really. Why, did you want to do something?" asked Tsukuyo.
"Yeah, how about we meet for lunch? I have a job I need to take care of in the afternoon, but we can still have lunch together. How about it?"
"That sounds great, where should we meet?" she asked, sounding interested.
Gintoki gave Tsukuyo the details and they agreed to meet each other in a half-hour. Gintoki said his goodbye and hung up the phone. He smiled to himself as he got up and exited the room.
I wonder where Shinpachi and Kagura went off to he thought as he stepped outside his house. I was going to have them help me with that job this afternoon. They must be around here somewhere.
He descended the stairs that led to the street and looked around for his friends. Suddenly, the front door of Otose Snack House opened up and Tama walked out carrying a broom. She immediately noticed Gintoki standing there.
"Ah, good morning, Gintoki-sama," she greeted him. "How are you today?"
"Good," he replied. "By any chance, have you seen Shinpachi and Kagura around? I need to tell them something," he explained.
"Yes, Shinpachi-sama and Kagura-sama went out into town a little while ago," she informed him.
"They did?" asked Gintoki in surprise. "Did they say when they would come back?"
"No," said Tama, "but I believe that they will be gone for the whole day."
"Seriously?" groaned Gintoki. "Great, now I'll have to do the job by myself." He sighed to himself, wondering why the two of them had suddenly wandered off into town for the day. "Well, anyway, thanks for the info," he said as he started walking away.
"Are you going out into town too, Gintoki-sama?" asked Tama out of curiosity.
Gintoki stopped and turned around to answer her. "Yeah, I'll be gone for a few hours. If anyone asks where I am, just tell them that I'm busy."
Tama gave him a look of surprise. After a couple of seconds she seemed to return to normal. "Ok, I think I understand," she told him. "I'll let them know what you're doing."
Gintoki gave her a somewhat confused look. "Um, thanks?" He felt like she was acting weird, but he decided it was time to get going. He didn't want to be late for Tsukuyo. "I'll see you around," he called out as he walked away.
"Farewell, Gintoki-sama," said Tama as she watched the man walk away. "Have fun with your lover," she added at the end.
Gintoki held his hand up and gave a slight wave to show that he understood what she had said. Unfortunately for him, however, he had only caught the first part of Tama's final comment. 'Have fun' was the only part that he had clearly heard. The term 'lover' never reached his ears. If it had, Gintoki would surely have stopped in his tracks and questioned Tama about everything she knew. But it was not so. In the end, he walked away, accidently letting his secret slip out without even realizing it.
Tama simply stood there as she watched him give a wave. In her mind, that gesture confirmed any suspicions revolving around Gintoki having a lover. She decided to take the opportunity to register her new data.
"Data confirmed," she said.
Author: This time around, I'd like to welcome Granny Otose to this segment. Say hi, Otose!
Otose: Why do I have to be here?
Author: …What?
Otose: Why am I in this segment? I don't want to be here.
Author: What? Why not?
Otose: This is a place for idiots to showcase themselves. I don't want to be a part of that.
Author: What are you talking about? This is a place for all of the Gintama characters to try and make the reader laugh.
Otose: Exactly, it's a place for idiots to do stupid things.
Author: Hey now, we don't just do stupid things in here!
Otose: Oh, right, you make fun of this shitty story too.
Author: Now hold on a minute!
Otose: Honesty, why in the world did you think I would want to be a part of this? There's nothing appealing about this. There's not even any wine or anything.
Author: Wine? You want wine? You own your own bar! Get your own damn wine!
Otose: Sheesh, you sure know how to make someone feel welcome. Don't you feel bad now that you've yelled at an old lady? Honestly, this is why nobody likes your story.
Author: I'm about to put you down for a nap you ungrateful hag!
Otose: Good, that's better than being here.
Author: Why you- Hey! Where are you going?
Otose: I'm out of here. Don't bother calling me back.
Author: Fine! Go ahead and leave! See if I ever put you in my story again!
Author: …Damn it, she would probably like that…
