As night fell, Edo became a hive of activity. It always had a bustling nightlife, especially under Kabuki-chou, well known for being the entertainment district, with the likes of Kyoshiro's male cabaret club and even Saigo Tokumori's unique cabaret club. But this night was even more lively for a different reason: The annual summer festival. It attracted many people in and around Edo to have a look and enjoy themselves, including three people from Yoshiwara, though one of them had reservations about it...

"Hinowa...will the Hyakka really be ok without me today?"

"They'll be fine Tsukuyo, you worry too much."

"Yeah Tsukuyo-nee, you need to relax every now and then, the summer festival is a perfect time to do that!"

Tsukuyo sighed as she walked around the various stalls set up for the festival with Hinowa and Seita, the former being pushed in a wheelchair by the latter. There was a mixture of mini games and food stalls, all of them eager for customers to stop by. It was normally a unique experience that didn't happen very often, but Tsukuyo couldn't help but think that something was missing, as she didn't seem remotely interested in what was being offered. Something that might make her own summer experience very special. Surely it couldn't be that certain no-good lazy man with a silver bush for hair? No way, I doubt he'd turn up. She thought.

He wasn't the only one who was missing. Tsukuyo's attire had changed, albeit at Hinowa's request. Instead of her usual black kimono with orange autumn leaf patterns, she wore a dark blue kimono with red flower patterns and traded in her leather high heels for some geta, and her hair was tied up in a more refined bun. Her face was in an uncomfortable frown as she looked down at her kimono. She was being self-conscious about how she looked in her kimono, which was odd given that she almost never cared about how she looked.

"Tsukuyo? Is something wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable in that?" Hinowa asked, looking up at her. Like Tsukuyo, her outfit had also changed for the evening, wearing a white kimono with purple circular patterns dotted around it.

"No..." She bluntly replied, blowing out some smoke from her kiseru in an attempt to mask her unease.

"If you say so. I'm only asking because you seem to be brooding about something, you keep looking at your kimono. Don't tell me you're embarrassed to be seen in it by someone?" Hinowa smirked.

"W-what are ye talking about? Cos I sure as hell don't know what ye talking about..." Tsukuyo stuttered, her hand was shaking slightly and her fingers' grip on the wooden length tightened as she took another puff from her kiseru. Hinowa could read her like an open book thanks to the time spent with her since she was a child, but she seemed to be taking many opportunities to poke fun at her recently, especially when it came to talking about a certain man.

"You don't think Gin-san will be here tonight do you?" Hinowa innocently asked. This caused Tsukuyo to explode in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"Why'd ye bring that moron up?! Of course he's not gonna turn up!" She yelled, almost snapping her pipe from gripping it excessively. She looked at the hand holding her pipe and tutted. It hadn't snapped, but there was a notable crack along the wooden shaft. "Shit, now I'll have to get another one..." she mumbled, tossing the damaged pipe into a nearby bin.

"Hehe, I'm sorry Tsukuyo..." Hinowa chuckled a little bit, but felt bad that she caused Tsukuyo to break her pipe. The latter sighed and shook her head "It'll be fine, I can manage without it."

Seita meanwhile observed the teasing in silence when he heard some familiars voices from behind. It sounded like the voices of a lazy man arguing with his children, a teenage boy acting as mediator, and a young girl with a distinctive way of ending her sentences with 'aru'.

"Mom! Tsukuyo-nee! They're here!" He shouted excitedly, turning the wheelchair to face the oncoming trio.

"Oh speak of the devil, he's here after all." Hinowa teased gleefully. Any ounce of remorse was quickly swept away. Tsukuyo on the other hand was not so positive. She was worrying about how she looked earlier, had just broken her pipe and now the man she really did not want to see was metres away from her, getting closer with each step. She palmed her face and sighed in frustration, unable to stop her face from flushing a shade of pink.

Gintoki glanced at Tsukuyo first before quickly switching to look at Hinowa and Seita. "Oh hey it's you lot. What brings you out here this time?" Gintoki asked in his typical lazy manner, picking his nose and wiping it on Kagura's head, which the latter didn't take kindly to.

"We're here for the summer festival Gin-san! " Seita enthusiastically announced.

Gintoki ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the three. "Uh huh, and I guess it's to get Miss Workaholic here to loosen up from work."

"More like Mrs Workaholic soon." Hinowa quipped, making Tsukuyo gasp with a burning red face. Gintoki attempted to feign indifference by looking down at the floor, but his cheeks turned a light shade of pink, which gradually became more pronounced now that he let slip his feelings about Tsukuyo in front of Hinowa the day before, so his secret was more or less at the mercy of the Sun of Yoshiwara. He also had another secret, but that was thankfully kept much safer since it was hidden in his yukata. Kagura, Shinpachi and Seita's eyes flicked back and forth between Tsukuyo's burning face and Gintoki's feigned stoicism while Hinowa simply smiled, basking in the sexual tension that filled the air. The tension was about to seep into the entire area when it was dispelled by Shinpachi's voice.

"So...Hinowa-san, Seita-kun. There's a concert by Otsu later on tonight, do you want to come along? We can have a look around the festival before it starts."

"Otsu-chan? Who's that?" Seita asked.

"Otsu is an idol singer, a great one at that! We can show you when her concert starts! I got a group of friends coming later, we're all big fans of her." Shinpachi proudly declared.

Seita seemed unconvinced. "More like a fan club of virgins..." He mumbled, which earned him two hands at his shoulders and one hell of an earful from the manic glasses wearing the human ("WE'RE NOT VIRGINS, WE'RE JUST EXTREMELY BIG FANS, WE CALL OURSELVES THE GOD HANDS SOCIETY, DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE GOD HANDS SOCIETY!!"). The other four chuckled heartily at Shinpachi's outburst, seemingly forgetting what happened earlier.

"I think that's a great idea." Hinowa happily said, putting her hands together. "Gin-san, why don't you go with Tsukuyo and spend some time together? I can look after the children for you."

The duo's mouths almost dropped to the floor in shock.

"B-but..." They stuttered.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. And like you said Gin-san, it's also to help Tsukuyo loosen up from work. Now then, shall we be off?" She winked at Gintoki before Seita took hold of her wheelchair to begin their journey around the vast amounts of food and game stalls set up for the evening, with Kagura and Shinpachi going with them. They all said their goodbyes as they walked past Gintoki, with Kagura making one last quip at the pair's expense ("Don't get carried away Gin-chan!") before the four merged into the crowd.

Now it was just the two of them, standing in front of each other looking very very red in their faces. Several minutes went by before one of them managed to speak up.

"Well...guess we better get moving. This place ain't gonna explore itself."

"...Ya right. Let's go."

The two wondered around the stalls aimlessly, only stopping by the ones that piqued their interests as if they were window shopping, but it didn't amount to much. They were more concerned by their need to not look each other in the face, the tension between the two being very much palpable. Surprisingly they bumped into Tae and Kyubei, the latter being dressed up in a kimono much to her chagrin (and the delight of Tae and her servant Tojo who'd insisted on Kyubei wearing it back in the Yagyu household), and her hair was tied into twin tails. After a few minutes of small talk and gossip, the pairs went their separate ways when Tsukuyo noticed someone hiding behind one of the empty stalls, and nudged Gintoki's side to get his attention. He turned around and also saw it. As the figure slowly rose so that the head was visible, it revealed itself to be a man in a beetle mask staring in Tae and Kyubei's direction. Tsukuyo turned to Gintoki with a look of confusion. "Uh...who's that? A beetle man?"

"No. That's a stalker gorilla called Kondo." Gintoki bluntly stated, staring lifelessly at Kondo's mask. The two walked past him while he stealthily made his way into a crowd to blend in.

Tsukuyo pondered about where she heard that name before her mind briefly flashed back to the love incense ruckus in Yoshiwara, as she distinctly remembered a man who was after Tae with an almost stalker-like obsession. Now she remembered.

As they continued their uneventful walk around the festival (aside from stopping by a stall that sold takoyaki) they suddenly stopped after coming across what looked like a lone member of the Shinsengumi threatening one of the stall owners with a pistol over having to pay to play a target game. Tsukuyo took a step forward, intending to intervene but Gintoki held her wrist, looked her straight in her eyes and shook his head, which the former complied to with a light blush on her face. He fired a shot at the target board with pin point accuracy before pointing it at the owner, giving him three seconds to comply, but after counting one he fired another round that barely missed the owner's head, to which the latter squealed: "What happened to two and three?!", to which the member retorted: "Couldn't tell ya, a man only needs number one to get through life. Now I'm gonna tell you again, you don't let him play by the time I count to three I'll be aiming for something worth more than your prizes. One..."

Another man in a hood who was standing behind this member stepped in to prevent further violence, putting his hand on the pistol and lowering it down. "Katakuriko. No violence." The man then released the cloth knot under his chin to reveal his head, which shocked Gintoki, Tsukuyo and the owner.

"T-that's..." They stuttered.

"Fascinating. So this is one type of a summer festival stall. May I have a try at your game?" He politely said.

All three were thinking the same thing, but only the owner's voice pierced the air.

"Sho...SHOGUN KAYOOOOOO??!!!"

After spectating the Shogun's latest foray into life as a civilian, which thankfully passed without incident compared to the other times he tried, Gintoki and Tsukuyo both walked up to the Shogun for a quick chat, with Katakuriko still pointing his pistol at the owner and the target board. It was relatively small talk, with the exception of Gintoki asking about Princess Soyo, since Kagura mentioned that she would be present at the festival, to which the Shogun explained that she was with their caretaker Rotten Maizo, and that she most likely made sure that she'd meet with Kagura before the festival was over. They bid farewell as the Shogun and Katakuriko walked off to find another stall to try out and possibly terrorise. The owner, who managed to calm down then turned his attention to the remaining pair, with Gintoki handing over a couple of coins to have a go at the target game. The owner handed over 3 kunais and offered him three prizes if he managed to hit one but wouldn't say what they were, much to Gintoki's displeasure. The first one missed its target, the second one bounced off and the final one bounced off yet again, despite him putting much more force behind the throw, and he cursed out his luck, to which the owner slyly suggested paying for another go. This drew Tsukuyo's wrath as she plastered the entire target board as well as the owner's outline with very metal and very real kunai before walking off in a grumble. Gintoki went after her.

"...Was that really necessary?" He flatly asked with his dead fish eyes.

"I couldn't help it, he was about to swindle ya out of ya money Gintoki."

"Not that, I meant the kunai. Why the hell did you bring them? To a festival no less?"

"Eh-I wanted to be prepared! You never know what kinda trouble's lurking around the corner!" She answered desperately. Gintoki sighed and shook his head.

"Honestly, you haven't even relaxed since they left us alone. Next time, leave the kunai at home. Let me do the heavy lifting ok?" Tsukuyo lowered her eyes and pouted. "Fine..."

They continued to walk around before Gintoki dashed off to a nearby stall, while Tsukuyo briefly stopped. It turns out there was a nearby stall that sold strawberry parfait, and Gintoki was drooling over the mere thought of eating one. He hurriedly payed up before returning to Tsukuyo, having already taken a bite out of the parfait. Tsukuyo merely rolled her eyes as they continued on their stroll. A few minutes later, an incredibly loud voice boomed over the area, followed by a roar of a large group of people.

"Oh great it's Otsu's concert." Gintoki quickly grabbed Tsukuyo's hand with his free hand and ran as far away from the festival as possible.

"G-Gintoki?! Where are we going?!"

After a few minutes of running the pair began to slow down to walking speed. The loud, obnoxious singing from Otsu gradually faded away whilst Gintoki took the time to eat his parfait. By the time he finished, they arrived at the park, and he dumped his empty parfait glass into a recycling bin while Tsukuyo found a bench to sit on, and the singing reduced to a mere echo. The park was well lit, with lamps planted in regular lengths.

"Finally...some peace and quiet." He sighed as he joined Tsukuyo on the bench, sitting in the middle to her left. For several minutes they closed their eyes and took in the peaceful ambiance, nothing but crickets quietly chirping in the background. Their meditation was cut short by the booming sound of fireworks, which lit up the sky, and they both smiled at the dazzling spectacle. While Gintoki's eyes continued to be dazzled by the fireworks, Tsukuyo drew her own eyes away from the fireworks and fixed them on Gintoki, noticing some cream on his lips from the parfait he'd eaten earlier. Her mind was racing on what to say. What do I do...? Maybe I should lick and suck it off his lips, he might lik-wait what?! Don't be ridiculous! She thought, blushing furiously. Yet the mere idea of doing such a thing sparked a faint feeling in her chest. A feeling of desire. Lust. She wanted to lick it off. She found herself rather breathless, breathing heavily to stabilise her heartbeat, which was beating rapidly. Gintoki turned and noticed her chest rising and falling deeply, as well as her beet red face.

"You ok there? You look like you're gonna go into labour." He asked worriedly. She frantically shook her head, taking in deep breaths several more times before recollecting herself.

"You...got some cream on your mouth." She gasped. Gintoki licked around his mouth, taking in the rest of the cream before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. It made Tsukuyo even more hungry for him, thinking of some of the possible things he could do with his tongue, despite her brain desperately begging for it to stop. She resisted the urge to make her move and the feeling subsided for the time being, looking up at the sky to continue purifying her lust-filled urges.

Gintoki stared at her, glancing down from her feet to the new kimono she wore and finally her profile. He watched her release her bun that she tied up, letting her golden hair fall to her shoulders. She looked breathtaking, like a goddess. He contemplated why he held back his feelings for so long. But the haze of doubt in his mind resurfaced. If she were to die, he wouldn't be able to comprehend it. It would drive him insane. He would lose everything again. Just like when Shoyo died. It left him bitterly conflicted. He unconsciously maintained his gaze until he realised Tsukuyo was also staring at him, which sent him back into reality with a deep red flush on his face.

"Are ya alright Gintoki?" She asked softly. She then glanced at his bandaged left arm and took his left hand to inspect it. He could feel his face burning up and looked the other way.

"What-"

"C-cat scratches. Some old lady called in wanting us to find her cats earlier today. I got mauled by one of them. But we managed to get them all back." He mumbled.

"Oh right..." She said softly. She couldn't help but smile at the idea of Gintoki being attacked by cats. She glanced up at his face and noticed that his right cheek was still glowing red. She put her palm to his forehead for a few seconds, setting his heart into overdrive. She normally wouldn't dare to touch him unless in dire circumstances, but her protective instincts began to kick in.

"Are ya sure ya ok? Ya not suffering from a fever or anything are you?" She moved her palm from his forehead to his chest to check his pulse. It was beating erratically like a drum, or even as if it wanted to leap out of his chest. Gintoki's head couldn't comprehend what was happening and remained silent before eeking out a small sentence.

"I'm fine. I promise."

Tsukuyo retracted her hand, her face flushed and also looked away upon realising what she did. Neither of them said anything or looked at each other for a few minutes before something nudged Tsukuyo's left arm. She turned her head slightly and her eyes fell on Gintoki's hand holding something rather peculiar: a thin rectangular looking object wrapped in brown wrapping paper with a neat red bow. She stared at it when Gintoki coughed rather awkwardly whilst facing away from her, which roughly translated to: It's for you. She continued to stare at it, her eyes flicking between Gintoki's body and the thing he was holding, trying to understand what he was doing. Several agonising seconds passed.

"Just open it."

She took the object from his hand and inspected it. Surely there was no way he went out of his way to buy something for her? She delicately untied the bow and unwrapped the paper to reveal a steel case with one stylised logo on it: Bitch. She opened the case to find a brand new kiseru, made from the finest steel and bamboo in Japan. Gintoki mustered up the courage to look at her reaction. Her mouth was slightly open, speechless at what she received.

"W-why?"

"I noticed you weren't smoking at all today. Guess you broke yours." He said.

While it was technically true since she broke her pipe just before he arrived, something seemed off. There was no way he could've held onto it until now. Under normal circumstances, he would've laughed in her face and told her it was healthier not to be smoking. Normal circumstances... That phrase echoed in her head repeatedly. Come to think of it, nothing he did today outside of the interactions with the people around him was normal. The constant awkwardness between each other, hiding the kiseru until now. There was one other thing that stood out in her mind that, as insane as it was, might fit the puzzle: Her speech to him during their showdown with Hosen.

'I don't remember using a dirty pipe like that. My pipe isn't a cheap piece of crap. Mine carries the brand "Bitch". Ya can't buy one here. If you lost it, ya'd better buy me a new one... on the surface.'

She flushed pink for the umpteenth time and her heart started beating rapidly again, putting together the pieces in her head, but she needed confirmation he really did it. She smiled against her will, believing it too good to be true.

"When we fought against Hosen, I told ya what my type of pipe was. I told ya that if you lost it, ya'd have to buy me a new one on the surface. You...actually did it? For me?"

"...Maybe."

"Bullshit...if that's the case then why did you hold onto it until now to give it to me? You could've given it to me right after."

Silence. He had nothing to combat that question with. No lies, no excuses, no truths except for one. And she knew. His silence right there meant one thing. Her cheeks bloomed into a deep red as she turned to face him, his head looking at the floor. They both acknowledged the respect and camaraderie between each other but to think he went this far in showing his affections...She couldn't believe it.

"Gintoki..." She whispered. She closed the case and deposited it in her kimono.

Gintoki's eyes remained glued to the floor when he felt her shadow loom over his right cheek, and his eyes widened when he felt something softly touch it. It sent shockwaves all over his body and his heart thumped even louder than before. It really was happening. Holy. Shit. She just kissed me. His head cried out. As he felt her lips and shadow withdraw, he brushed his fingers over the spot where her lips were before facing Tsukuyo. He opened his mouth to speak but was quickly sealed by a single finger over his lips, a gentle smile and a burning red face.

"That's my own gift for ya..."

He took his hand and delicately took her finger away from his mouth.

"I think I can do one better..." He murmured. He withdrew a hand into his yukata and fished out a single pink flower, still fresh and untouched from earlier. She knew exactly what it was and what it meant. He let her gaze upon it for a moment before moving closer to her body. She braced herself, closing her eyes for what was going to happen next. She waited several seconds before she felt something lightly inserted in her hair and his shadow move back. She opened her eyes to find him smiling at her and pointed to the left side of his head. She mimicked what he did and felt something delicate there. She brushed some of her hair past her ear and couldn't help but grin as she looked away briefly. She suddenly felt him shuffle closer as he placed his right hand on her left, both of which locked fingers together. She turned her head to face him and stared into his maroon coloured eyes whilst he gazed into her amethyst eyes.

"You're such a girl you know?" He quietly quipped.

"Shut up you..." She retorted, and both closed their eyes as their lips sealed together, their other free hands taking their places at each other cheeks. The feeling was indescribable, overloading their bodies with lust, longing, passion and desire. Tsukuyo lightly moaned in pleasure as Gintoki's free hand gently trailed from her cheek down to her neck, sending goosebumps throughout her body. She moaned louder as her mouth parted open slightly, allowing Gintoki's tongue to make its way inside to dance with her own while he also let out his own noise of satisfaction. The two eventually broke away, leaving a thin strand of saliva to briefly extend between their tongues, panting heavily before closing their eyes and resting their foreheads on each other, both of them moving their bodies closer so that their chests were touching. The only noise that could be heard was their heartbeats pounding at light speed. The small check ups on each other a few minutes earlier had completely flopped. If anything, it made things worse. But none of that mattered. They slowly opened their eyes and gazed intently at each other lovingly, even giggling slightly after what just happened. Gintoki released the hold on his right hand and traced Tsukuyo's scars gently. She on the other hand, dragged her left hand from his neck to his exposed collarbone slowly with her fingertips, sending shivers up his spine.

"I gotta ask...why exactly did you come up here? You weren't really here for the festival were ya?" He muttered.

"I just came up to get some fresh air. It's good to get fresh air every now and then." She answered.

"What's that supposed to mean, O Shinigami Tayuu?"

"...I'll leave that up to you to figure out." She whispered in his ear. This sent another wave of lust over Gintoki as the both of them giggled before their tongues entered each other's mouths again, lightly moaning with each tongue clash. Their primal instincts completely overwhelmed their sense of logic, replacing restraint with hunger and impulse. Tsukuyo gently pressed her nails into Gintoki's collarbone, earning her a deep moan from him. As a measure of payback, he briefly pulled away to kiss a trail along her neck before sucking on it and she gasped and groaned in response. He even moved the kisses up to her jawline and nibbled on her ear, which rewarded him with more moans before they returned to their tongue duet. Their moans and lips sucking at each other were the only things making noises in the park. As they pulled away to catch their breath and rest their foreheads against each other once more, they nuzzled their noses against each other with their eyes closed, before beginning their dance all over again. They didn't give a damn about the world. They didn't care if anyone would walk past at this point. They wanted each other, because in their mind, as long as they were together, they were more than willing to die by each other's side.

Gintoki slowly began to stir as his eyes slowly opened. Everything but the night sky was dark. The lamps were turned off. He moved his head slightly and felt someone's shoulder. It smelt of lavender. Oh yeah... he thought. He'd forgotten they fell asleep on each other's shoulders after a while, and his right arm was hanging around Tsukuyo's neck. He silently yawned as he kissed her on the cheek, to which she responded with a faint smile in her sleep. He couldn't tell what time it was, but it was certainly past mid-night, maybe one o'clock at the latest. He decided it was time to bring her home. He hooked his left arm under her legs and lifted her up, his right arm supporting her back before he turned to head for Yoshiwara.

As he walked with Tsukuyo in his arms, he looked down at her. It was reminiscent of the time he rescued her from her master, Jiraia. But instead of looking bruised and battered, she was soundly fast asleep, undisturbed and very much content with being in his arms without a care in the world. He smiled gently at her.

After walking some distance, he eventually made it to Yoshiwara. The streets were completely empty. As he slowly walked the last few metres to Hinowa's tea shop, Tsukuyo shuffled slightly, burying her face in Gintoki's exposed chest. He blushed slightly at this, but he was about to blush a lot more when he tapped on the door to Hinowa's house. The door opened, and the lady herself was right in front of them, smiling gleefully at the two.

"Sorry we're late." He whispered embarrassingly. Hinowa stifled a giggle as she silently led Gintoki into Tsukuyo's room, preparing her futon for her to lay down on. She watched as he gently laid her down and removed her geta as well as her flower that rested in her hair and her new kiseru, placing the former by her door whilst putting the kiseru case and flower by her bedside so that they wouldn't be crushed in her sleep. He knelt down and gave Tsukuyo one last kiss on the lips before pulling away and quietly making his way out her room, the latter smiling again. As he was about to leave, Hinowa quietly called Gintoki.

"Gin-san?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for looking after Tsukuyo. I'm so proud of the both of you." She clasped her hands together grinning. Gintoki huffed with a smile and put his hand up.

"Thanks for looking after the kids."

He quietly closed the door and took his time walking home. By the time he made it to his bed, he checked his Justaway clock. It was 2am. "That was one hell of an evening." He muttered to himself as he turned on his side and drifted to sleep with a smile on his face. Even when they were apart, they could still feel each other at their side, as if they never left. At first it was enough merely being around each other. Now they wanted more, and they got it.

They made it to first base.

A/N: This was tension: the chapter. Honestly this chapter took a little while to write but it was so much fun. And it's only going to get deeper from here. As always, feel free to leave a review, it would really help improve on my writing! :)

P.S. I just realised they made it to second base already but...that'll get more emphasis next chapter.

Next chapter is in development, gonna be posted soon! :)