a/n: This chapter has SMUT. you have been warned. When I read my reviews, I saw that y'all might be expecting lots and lots of future smut - but alas, that's not the main agenda of this fic, lmao. This fic is playing with political and canonical events that happen in Gintama! However, for you degenerates out there - I will probably be releasing a smutty oneshot soon, so be on the outlook for that, hehehe!
Also I am laughing a bit at how OOC Gin/Tsukki are in this chapter (Gintoki being cool? impossibru) but please keep in mind they're still fairly young and like, 10x way cooler than their older counterparts. I'm trying my best ok lol
11. lust, caution
She could smell blood on him.
"This isn't a place where beautiful women like you should be hanging out," he said grimly, although she could tell that his eyes were twinkling with amusement. He put his straw hat back on, concealing his head of white hair.
"Neither should wanted war criminals like you," she shot back, but all the same, there was a gentle smile on her face. "Mind telling me what you're up to before getting yourself into a lot of trouble?"
"As I have told you before, Tsukuyo, I am the Shiroyasha," he said calmly, a hand resting on the helm of his sword. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"
"Neither," she said cheerfully. "I only care about Yoshiwara."
"Good answer," he replied, to her great surprise. "It's pointless on both sides. So, again. Why are you here?"
Checking to see if anyone could hear her, it was a moment before she said quietly, "I was trying to collect information about one of my elders. The Shogun used to be... one of her clients. But I think he used her as a political pawn to lure in his enemies, and then he discarded her once she stopped being useful."
"I see. And what do you plan to do after that?"
She scowled, still vexed by the Shogun. "I wanted to murder him, but then I realized that if I did that, nothing would have changed."
"On the contrary," he said, correcting her. "A lot would change. But assassinations are best done at night with nobody around to watch. So you stopping yourself was a good idea."
She didn't need a samurai to tell her that; after all, she was raised to be a shinobi! Still, even with his remarks, she brushed it off. "And you? Why are you here?"
"A little bit of this, a little bit of that," he said, smiling.
Takasugi had assigned him to trail after the Naraku after shortly deciding that the assault on Kyou would be their next plan of action. The strangest notion was the lack of evidence they left behind, and those who were lucky enough to survive after witnessing their heinous massacres were reluctant to talk about it. In the meantime, Katsura was busy training the new recruits, while Sakamoto as usual was sent on diplomatic missions to cajole potential allies into supporting the Joui cause.
At the look of her raised eyebrow, he added, "Sorry if that's too vague; I have to keep things confidential. Oh, and sorry if my next letter came too late. I've been busy."
"That's okay," she said, realizing that another full moon had already passed since his last letter. "Guess I forgot. Things are going crazy in Yoshiwara right now."
"Forget me? You slay me, Shinigami Dayuu." He nodded at her courtesan costume, remembering the last time he had slid it off her. "If you want to keep talking to me, you'll have to put this on," he said, and tossed her a uniform.
She unfolded it, nothing the faint stains of blood on the front. "This is... ?"
"The clothes from one of my enemies," Gintoki said bitterly. "The Tendoshu uniform."
Without any time to spare, Tsukuyo stripped away the outer layers of her courtesan outfit, putting on the uniform on. It was slightly too big for her, but it was perfect for hiding her weapons. She folded the rest of her kimono in a neat square, hiding it in underneath a bush. Tearing off a small bit of fabric, she quickly made an impromptu mask to hide her facial features, a quick lesson from Jiraia who had always instructed her to conceal her face, especially on missions in dangerous territory.
"That was quick."
"Let me help you," she said, taking out her kanzashi pins, tucking them into her sleeves as a makeshift weapons. She then quickly tied her hair up to her original bun. "I might not take sides, but I am definitely against the Shogun."
After all, Gintoki had helped her escape the chains of Yoshiwara. She was eager to return the favor, no matter how dangerous it would be.
He only nodded in approval. "You sure? Were there any guests who might be connected to you back there? The Shogun may have forgotten your face, but he wouldn't forget whomever you came with..."
"It's been taken care of," she reassured him. Lady Kamekichi had been prepared for this, as one last favor to Suzuran who had once helped the courtesan reach greater heights than she could have grasped on her own. "She'll tell him that I've gone home early, as I have a very low tolerance to alcohol."
"Very well then," he said, and grinned devilishly. "Let's get the real party started."
-x-
The plan was simple: create a diversion, draw out the enemy, slay as many as possible, and then escape the Bakufu. It was simple in theory, but Tsukuyo knew that they would be lucky if they escaped with minimal casualties.
"The minute either of us is critically injured, the priority is to survive," Gintoki said, his voice low and deep. "And above all, make sure that nobody can trace it to either of us."
She nodded in agreement. In any case, the mission was not unlike those she had taken part of in the past as Yoshiwara's guardian. Taking cover in the darkness, she hid in the shadow of a nearby cherry blossom tree.
Gintoki waited, and then threw a grenade in the Shogun's banquet room. Clapping her hands to her ears, Tsukuyo waited nervously. She hoped Lady Kamekichi would safely escape, having told Gintoki the location of where she was sitting in.
The explosion was instantaneous. The fire that burst from the grenade was quickly spreading, causing mass hysteria from the crowd who were still lingering around.
In the midst of the chaos, the two of them stood still, waiting.
Tsukuyo was no fool to the risk she was taking. Whether she was fully aware of it or not, even Yoshiwara knew of how dangerous Tokugawa Sadasada was, as impartial as they stood on the matter of the day-to-day politics. He was famous for crushing his political enemies without mercy, and did it through hiring mercenaries to avoid implication and arrest. Through this unorthodox method, he had risen to power, kowtowing to the Amanto which had led to decisions made against the samurai underclass, who had suddenly found themselves in a world where they no longer held their esteemed status.
A minute passed, and a bead of sweat dripped down her forehead. Some of the nobility had ran out of the door, rushing to escape the premises, but no one yet had discovered her hiding place yet.
And then, her hair stood up.
"NOW!" Gintoki roared, as the Tendoshu came out of nowhere, surrounding the two of them. Instantaneously she ducked, slashing her kunai against the ankle of whomever was trying to kill her.
Assessing the skill level of her opponent, she knew that they were dangerous, and her concentration was focused solely on taking down as many as she could. For a while, the only things she could hear were wails of despair, the swish of Gintoki's sword making quick work of their enemies, and the screams of those unfortunate to witness the massacre that was taking place in the Shogun's palace garden.
Losing count of those who collapsed at her feet, the two of them quickly found themselves surrounded by a pool of blood.
"Let's get the hell outta here," Gintoki said, panting. She nodded, and they quickly went back into banquet hall which was now curiously silent.
-x-
For all her misgivings towards the samurai, Tsukuyo was impressed by how limber Gintoki was. He leapt onto the roof, helping her to her feet as they ran towards the entrance of the Shogun's castle, the moon illuminating their pathway towards freedom. Scanning her eyes for Lady Kamekichi's palanquin, she was relieved to see it was not there anymore; the courtesan must have escaped as soon as the explosion ruined half of the banquet hall.
That was not to say that their mission went smoothly. Like cockroaches, the Tendoshuu would pop up out of nowhere, but either Gintoki or Tsukuyo would take care of the problem almost as soon as they appeared; he with his sword and she with her kunai.
When they finally came to the river, she said, "We ought to swim; get the scent of ourselves off before they track us down."
He shook his head.
"What, can't swim?"
"Never learned," he said, grumbling.
"Better hold on tight, then," she said, and pushed him into the water before jumping in herself.
-x-
He clung tightly to her, and she swam all the way to a jetty that she knew would take them safely to Yoshiwara. When she rose from the surface, rolling onto the banks of the river with a gasp, he coughed up enough water to make her feel guilty.
"For fuck's sake," he said, in between coughs. "You could've warned me."
"You would have never jumped in if I hadn't pushed you," she said primly, wringing out as much water as she could from her borrowed uniform. When that was done, she shucked off her boots, emptying them back into the river underneath the bridge.
He studied her, which threw off guard. "What?" she said, suddenly nervous.
"Nothing. I was just... "
For a moment, he let his hand rest on her cheek, where a fleck of blood had dried on her cheek, serving as a grim reminder of what they'd been through. She blushed, an involuntary action on her part, especially with their close proximity to each other.
He leaned closer, letting his lips meet hers for a while, before he withdrew, a sigh coming from his chest as he admitted, "... admiring the way you looked tonight."
"How soon do you have to leave Edo?" she asked, putting her boots back on, her cheeks now as red as a tomato.
"Really, if I hadn't met you," he said, "Probably as soon as I left the castle. But seeing as I've killed about thirty of those corrupt assholes, I think Takasugi would let me stay overnight."
That would have given them six hours at most, but she wasn't one to question an unexpected gift. "Right, then," she said. "We better get going."
-x-
Stopping at a mid-range teahouse on the outskirts of Yoshiwara, Tsukuyo rented a small room that was nowhere near as ornate as the first room that she had stayed in last time that Gintoki was here, but thankfully, he had no complaints. Mercifully, there was a separate private bathroom with a wooden basin already filled with hot water, and she offered it to Gintoki first, who must have been caked in blood and sweat by now, but he shook his head, letting her go in first.
She scrubbed off all the dirt from her limbs, taking care to avoid the areas where she had been cut, although at this time they had already clotted over, sealing the wound. Strange; she would have expected shinobi of that caliber to have used lethal poison - she herself wouldn't have hesitated, knowing that in there were no concepts of whether things were fair or not; it only mattered whether you lived or died. Drying herself off with a clean towel, she donned a bathrobe before stepping out of the bathroom, nodding to Gintoki who then headed off himself for a bath.
She wondered about the man who had lost his limb for daring to fall in love with Suzuran. Lighting up her kiseru at the edge of the balcony, she inhaled in the scent of tobacco as the smoke made swirls into the night sky. She hoped he hadn't been in the banquet hall; although if he had displeased the Shogun it would have been unlikely for him to appear at his lordship's birthday. She knew she'd have to do more investigation once she was able to come back to the surface, even if it'd be a while until she was able to pop up without suspicion.
Tsukuyo could hear the bathroom door opening again, letting in the sweet smell of soap and steam permeate into the bedroom. It was custom for courtesans to require their clients to bathe before engaging in intimate acts, but still, her face heated up slightly at the prospect of what she knew was about to happen.
"What should we do about the uniforms?" she asked absentmindedly, as he walked to where she was, embracing her from behind.
"Does it matter?" he asked, resting his head against her neck. "You can burn yours for all I care. I'll have to take mine back to headquarters, though."
"Gintoki... why are you going after the Naraku?" she asked, not expecting a real answer.
"Various reasons," he answered. "But you know they aren't good people."
"I know." She tapped her ash into a nearby tray, looking at the full moon at the small window that Yoshiwara had let open, for now.
"The ones we encountered today were weaklings," Tsukuyo said slowly, remembering the brief mentions that Jiraia had told her of; a secret organization that were just as powerful as he had been at his peak, and possibly even more so than the Oniwabanshu. "They wouldn't have expected a Jouishishi patriot to storm in here of all days."
"Which is why it was the perfect plan when you came in," he said. "I would have told you to run if they were too powerful."
"... You idiot. What about your men? Shouldn't you think of them, too?"
"I could say the same for you," he replied, reminding Tsukuyo of her duty towards Yoshiwara. "Silly woman," he mumbled. "Can we just skip all of this and head to bed? I've had a long day," he said.
"Fine," she said, letting it go. After all, it was getting late. She set down her kiseru, letting the ash burn out on its own. "But Gintoki - "
"Shh," he said, putting his finger against her mouth, pulling her slowly into the futon. "No more talking."
-x-
This time, there were less things for him to take off, for which he was grateful for. Still, when he ran a steady palm across the nape of her naked back, she shivered.
"You're tense," he said quietly. "It's only me, you know."
In the dark of night, he could see the scars running down her cheek, glimmering underneath the moonlight. "I thought about you all the time," he said, his gaze reserved only for her. "When I was away, I missed you... Missed being inside you."
A curl of arousal shot down to her loins. "Gintoki... "
He could only kiss her in reply, before placing his lips on her neck, and then down to her breasts, making his way down to her thighs, separating them.
"What - "
She was wholly unprepared for what happened next, for the tip of his tongue had traced over her wet heat. The next stroke of his tongue parted her labia, causing her to gasp; her upper body lurched from the intensity of the sensation. His arms had pinned down her legs firmly to prevent her from moving away from him - not that she had any real intention to do so, as he was beginning to lap away with reckless abandon, his tongue swirling and stroking against her without mercy. Helpless against his mouth, she was aware of the dry sobs coming from her throat along with useless pleas for him to stop, even though she knew he wouldn't.
"I'll kill you for this," she whispered, as the razor-sharp pleasure cut her to pieces. Hell, she could barely see, the fog of ecstasy preventing her from registering anything except for the looming peak of what surely must have been an earth-shattering orgasm. And yet, he would prolong her pleasure by pulling his mouth away strategically, letting her cool down for only seconds at a time before returning to the task at hand, torturing her in the most heavenly way possible.
"P-please - " she begged, after she could bear it no longer, not knowing whether he would listen to her.
As if to answer her prayers, he pushed one, hard finger inside her sex, breaking her into pieces as her inner muscles clenched around his digit. The coil of pleasure that had been tightening under his onslaught snapped, her cries and gasps filling the room as he broke away, finally allowing her much needed relief from his mouth.
She could barely move, her limbs sluggish as he rose back in front of her, smirking ever so slightly.
"What was that about killing me?" he teased, to which he was met with glares on her end. Maybe when she had the energy to move...
Her heartbeat still drumming at the speed of light, she managed to ask him a question. "Why did you do that?"
"Did you like it?"
Blushing, she nodded, but hesitantly. "It was... pretty intense." Briefly she had known a vague understanding of this sexual act before this, but it was rare as most of the patrons were here to be served, rather than to serve the prostitutes or courtesans. In the throes of the most ferocious, intense orgasm she had ever experienced, it was still a relatively new concept to her.
"Last time we did it, we had some problems," he explained. "So I wanted you to be really wet this time."
"Right," she said, still somewhat unsure of what he meant by that. Amused by her confusion, he simply dipped a finger in her sex, showing her some of the fluids she had produced. "See?"
Her cheeks bloomed. "Gintoki!"
"Don't be embarrassed," he said, sucking on his finger in a way that simultaneously disgusted and aroused her. "I've never tasted anything so sweet."
"You're gross," she said, hiding her face with her hands.
"It's hot," he corrected, gently moving her hands away so that he could kiss her ear, moving his lips down to her jaw, and then nipping them against the crook of her neck, causing her to shudder involuntarily. "It's about time you know what your body can do except for fighting."
Sliding inside of her, he shuddered, the sensation of her tight and slick warmth burning him up from within. Not unlike last time, he took care not to go so fast to allow her to adjust to his size. A sound between a choke and a sob escaped from her throat, her eyes closed as the pleasure washed over her, lids fluttering every time he entered deep inside her core. The beautiful image of her gasping, breathless in such an intimate act was deeply erotic to him, and he found that the languid pace was the only thing that kept him from coming too soon.
Didn't he want more, though? Of course he did. "Think you can handle a different position this time?" he asked, placing his thumb deliberately against her clitoris. Her legs jerked, causing her to curse him (lovingly, of course.)
"Depends on the position," she countered, although he would have believed she was capable of anything he'd ask of her; her body just as flexible as it was voluptuous.
"Then what if I ask for doggy-style? Or... is that something that you haven't heard before?" His eyes challenged hers as he withdrew from her heated core.
Uncertain of what he was up to, but bristling at his insinuation that she was sweet and docile at any point in time, she went on all fours, wanting to prove that she was no longer as innocent as she once was. Although Jiraia had refused to train her as a shinobi who could seduce her enemies if the mission required her to do so, claiming that it would be a disgrace to someone who had given up her femininity, it didn't mean she couldn't please a man if she wanted to.
And right now, she really, really wanted to make Gintoki feel as good as she did.
"Hot," he breathed, his hands instantly roaming her perfectly round ass, thinking he could have died right then and there a happy man. That was before he plunged into her without any warning, filling her completely full; but by now she was so warmed up that her pussy offered no resistance as he entered and withdrew, to his utter delight. On her end, his first thrust had taken her by surprise, causing her to gasp, knees buckling from the heady rush of pleasure.
She's mine.
"Touch yourself," he ordered her, all the while falling into a deep rhythm that would push him as deep as he could go inside her. She obeyed, reduced to a babbling mess as he fucked her ferociously without abandon, her fingers focused on the elusive peak that she knew would deliver her a deep and satisfying orgasm. As he pounded faster and faster, her mind dissolved into a pile of incoherent mush, right before her climax came upon her hard and fast.
Every muscle in her body snapped, her center tight and rigid as they squeezed every inch of him, triggering his own orgasm as the sounds and sensations coming from her proved to be too much. Pulling out just in time, he released his seed onto her back, panting from the exertion.
For a while, all they could do was to breath while waiting for the sensations to subside, him hastily wiping off the sticky substance off her skin before rolling into bed. Without another word, they drifted off to sleep.
-x-
As the sliding door had not been completely closed last night, she was fortunate that she was able to wake up before he did, the faint rays of sunlight hitting her face before her eyes crinkled with the brightness of the morning.
Studying him for a while, she thought he looked peaceful like this. Not as a soldier, although it was true that his body, sculpted and toned to human perfection, revealed its own history of injuries, battles fought bitterly to the end, of fights that had gone in the wrong direction. No, she much preferred to see him without the stress of being the Jouishishi's best warrior, the secret weapon of those who stood against the foreign invaders of the country. She had hoped that she provided him with that momentary relief, regardless of her own hopes and dreams to be with him more permanently than could be afforded in their circumstances for now.
"... morning," he said, his voice raspy. He'd caught her staring. Without a further thought, he leaned in for a kiss.
"Good morning," she said after that, somewhat flustered - yet smiling, and he'd thought for a moment that the moonlight was reflecting on him. "Sleep well?"
"Better than most mornings," he said, stretching his limbs. "Usually, Takasugi woulda complained by now, if I was sleeping so long."
"I could get breakfast," she offered.
"Nah, I'm alright. I should go," he said, pulling his gray haori on, the one with less bloodstains. "Don't want to keep you from your duty, after all."
She simply observed him, knowing it would have done no good to tell him what was on the tip of her tongue: For you, I would have given it up entirely.
"Tsukuyo, you oughtta be careful."
"Hm?"
"Helping no good losers like me won't do you any good. You might become the Naraku's latest target."
"I can take care of myself," she said, now getting dressed herself. Once she finished, she lit her kiseru, breathing in the smoke, and letting the nicotine hit her bloodstream.
"I'm serious. You said it yourself; they're dangerous."
"If they target me, I'll blackmail them. After all, Tokugawa Sadasada wants his nephew to be the next Shogun," Tsukuyo said evenly, her eyes calm as she observed his widening.
"What?"
She tapped the ash from her pipe into a nearby tray. "That is what Lady Kamekichi tells me. He's getting on with age. But the Hitotsubashi faction won't like it; they've been gunning to reinstate one of their own into the throne for a while."
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, knowing that this was a secret that would potentially turn the country upside down. He knew that courtesans were often privy to the secrets of the nobility and upper-class; but this was perhaps on a whole different level. Unexpected, for sure, but much welcomed; it was a piece of information that could transform the Jouishishi, who normally were the underdogs, to having an upper hand during the war.
"Because I thought it might help your cause." She turned away, leaning in the balcony, looking over the view as the early inhabitants of Yoshiwara woke up, their activity already starting to cause a ruckus from below.
"You know something? It might. So thank you." Gintoki joined her, and for a while they chose to simply stand there in silence as they watched the merchants below them selling their wares, teas, and morning breakfasts. His hand rested on hers.
"You wanna know what my dream is?" he finally asked, breaking the peaceful lull between the two of them.
"What was it?" she asked, expecting it to be something childish - maybe a fountain of strawberry milk ...
"I just want both the samurai and Amanto to live in peace. No more of this pride, or bushido to get in the way. This war wasn't what my master wanted."
"And yet you fight for the samurai," she pointed out.
"I know, but only for them to be able to eat breakfast again," he said simply. "Or to live on, with their families, without knowing what it was like to lose what was important to them..."
With that final thought, he put on his straw hat, and this time, she was the one who told him "Goodbye," without looking back, even though it broke both of their hearts to go on without any further promises than the ones they had already made, tied on their fingers.
-x-
Fifty kilometers away, Oboro sat on the rooftop of the Shogun's castle.
"My lord. Would it suffice for us to apprehend the intruders from last night?"
"No need," Oboro said. "We could pin the blame on the Hitotsubashi faction if needed. For now, don't let the Shogun know who was behind the attacks. We don't want anybody to think he planned this for political sympathy."
His underling nodded, and then vanished, leaving the head of the Naraku unattended.
"Just wait for me, Shiroyasha," he muttered. "I'll be seeing you in hell."
-x-
- tbc -
-x-
a/n: And that's Ch 11 finished! Let me know what you thought about the smut *waggles eyebrows*