a/n: Does this mean we are halfway through the story?! Yes sir! Took me five years but better later than never, I guess LOL

12. duality

A somber mood had been set over Yoshiwara, and it was only three days after Gintoki left that Bakufu spies had started to infiltrate Yoshiwara. Not that it was obvious to most of the civilians, but nevertheless, Tsukuyo had been keeping a close eye over the town. Not too long after, there had been a surge of men who patrolled the city looking for someone in particular - probably her, but she figured the intent was to intimidate more than anything substantial. Still, she hadn't bothered to take off her face mask in days, only to change them in the privacy of the bathroom when she took her baths. Hinowa had been making fun of her - "Oh, is it your fourth cold, Tsukuyo? I'd better make you some soup, then - " but she ignored the bantering, knowing it was better to be safe than sorry. Not much later, Lady Kamekichi visited Hinowa's teashop the week after the banquet, unhappy with the chain of events.

"You ruined the party," Lady Kamekichi snapped at Tsukuyo, as Hinowa sat next to them in a teashop. "Now the Shogun won't see me anymore."

"Be still, my lady," Hinowa beseeched the courtesan, as she poured her a cup of hot tea. "You know there is a war going on, yes? These things happen."

"Of course I know, that's all men think about! War, war, war. But still! Tsukuyo was this close to blowing her cover," she hissed. "If the Bakufu knew what side we took, there goes business. Maybe you wouldn't understand, Tsukuyo, since you're only involved in the shadows, but the rest of us have to make a living!"

"The terrorist attack would have happened even if I was there or not," Tsukuyo replied calmly, taking a sip of her own tea. "And anyways, weren't you complaining last week how disgusting he was, trying to touch you in public eye?"

"Yes, but that's a different matter entirely when he's paying for my summer wardrobe!"

Tsukuyo sighed, knowing it would be difficult to reason with one of the top courtesans on Yoshiwara. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, my lady."

"Easy for you to say!"

"And what of Suzuran's lover?" Hinowa interjected hurriedly, not wanting to see a cat fight break out.

"He's lost an arm," Tsukuyo reported, although this wasn't as helpful as she thought it would turn out to be. It would be difficult to root out information, but regardless... it had to be done, for the sake of Suzuran.

"So he's not the Shogun."

"No."

"Oh, but it could have been him," Kamekichi sighed dramatically. "That explosion could have killed us all - "

"But it didn't," Tsukuyo interrupted rudely, annoyed by the courtesan's antics. "You realize that because of the Shogun, he essentially re-instated us underground?"

"Does it matter as long as us women can make a living?" the courtesan snapped back. "Hosen might have been evil, but at least we had food to eat and clothes on our back. Don't you think that's better than the poor villagers out there who have neither of those things? The Bakufu feeds us. You know this, Tsukuyo."

"Now, now," Hinowa said, smoothing over the argument threatening to spill over. "I'm sure Tsukuyo understands the importance of who is in charge."

"Does she? Because someone told me that a white-haired soldier visited Yoshiwara last night."

Tsukuyo said nothing, preferring to smoke in silence.

The courtesan flared her nostrils, still indignant. "If anyone links you to him, then they'll see that we've picked a side. And you know we can't afford that."

"I know," she said quietly. "But the Shogun knows better than to pick a fight with us. Without Suzuran, he wouldn't have risen to the top. This country has been built on the backs of women - and he would be a fool to forget that."

-x-

"We don't serve your kind over here, especially if you'll treat us like that!"

A fight had broken out in Yoshiwara, and Tsukuyo had stood, ready to maim and kill if the situation escalated any further. Although all patrons were advised before entering the red light district to be respectful towards the courtesans, some customers never learned their lesson.

"Haaah? My kind? I'll have you know that I'm a first-class Amanto!"

"How would we know that?" the courtesan asked defiantly. "We don't even know who you are!"

The Amanto in question shrugged, and lifted their helmet, revealing the head of a monkey. "Name's Shoukaku," he said. "And anyways, I was trying to kill some time before meeting the Courtesan of Death."

At the mention of her name, Tsukuyo stepped out of the alley. "That's me," she said, lighting up her kiseru. "What do you want?"

-x-

"I'll get straight to the point with you," Shoukaku said. "We're here to find the Jouishishi."

Tsukuyo tapped her pipe on the ashtray, frowning. "I wouldn't have the faintest clue where they would be," she said. The last letter Gintoki had sent her had been over a week ago, and it had no return address; nor did the contents have any clue of where he would be in the next few months. Not that she was especially keen to hand over that piece of information, even if she had it.

"That's okay. We just wanted to declare our intention."

"Because ... ?" She leaned in, still frowning. "I assume there's a reward for you."

"The Bakufu commissioned me and my men to crush the Jouishishi. But... our 12th division would rather not do it." The monkey scratched his chin. "All of us pirates, either we're here because our planet was destroyed or we're just good-for-nothing criminals. But we like Earth, actually. We don't want to ruin it."

"... Huh." Tsukuyo wasn't sure what to make of that. Unlike the samurai class, the courtesans simply viewed the Amanto as just another source of income as they were easily charmed by the antiquated ways of the red light district. Still; even if they were not seen as enemies, they weren't especially welcomed, either, as the samurai who patronized Yoshiwara tended to be aggravated by their presence. The Hyakka had a three-strike policy about altercations and were generally proactive in deescalating situations if possible.

"We think we could make a lot of money if we used this underground shipyard to deal drugs in the meantime, and... maybe other things too. Think of it as a business transaction."

Tsukuyo shook her head. "When drugs are involved, gang fights break out, and us Hyakka will have to clean up the mess. You'll think it'll be convenient now, but soon the Bakufu will target you and go against your back."

"Hah!" The monkey laughed uproariously, banging his fist against the table. "They wouldn't stand a chance against the Harusame. We've got Yatos, we've got - "

"You've got Yatos?" Tsukuyo blanched.

"Yup," Shoukaku said proudly. "Well, a couple of 'em anyway. They're really strong, and they love to fight."

"Yoshiwara doesn't need any more trouble," Tsukuyo replied frostily. "Hosen was enough Yato for us, thank you very much."

"No, no, no - I'm not trying to take over!" Shoukaku was apologetic. "You're misunderstanding. Unlike... well... other groups, we just want to make money. And it wouldn't be very becoming of us warriors if we took advantage of a city of women!"

She bristled at the insult, but her temperament told her to hold her tongue - as much as she could, anyway.

"You'll find that this city is a bit stronger than you think," she said in clipped tones, and took a puff from her kiseru.

"Is that a warning?" Shoukaku said, grinning.

"I wouldn't say that," Tsukuyo replied coolly, her purple eyes unblinking and calm. "But much blood has been spilled here. It wouldn't do you well to underestimate the people who live here."

"I respect that," the Amanto said, nodding as if he understood, even though Tsukuyo knew he didn't. "But what if we did something in return? You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours?"

She was skeptical. "Like what?"

"I could get rid of the Bakufu dogs around town."

The offer was tempting. But that wouldn't be possible. "No," she said. "These courtesans depend on them for business."

"I'm not talking about small fish, here." Shoukaku leaned forwards, his sharp teeth baring into a mischievous grin. "I'm talking about the really, really, dangerous ones. Haven't you noticed that some of these guys are starting to infiltrate these parts?" He took out a bloody rag; and Tsukuyo instantly realized that it came from the uniform of the Naraku.

Well. That got her attention.

An hour later, accompanied with five of the strongest members of Hyakka, Shoukaku had taken Tsukuyo to a recently constructed port only a kilometer from Yoshiwara.

"Let me introduce my friend, Pluto Batou. He's a fellow captain of mine and the head of the Harusame's 2nd division."

Certainly he looked like no other men that she had met before. For one, she hadn't seen any human who had a third eye.

He took one cursory glance at her. "You needn't have brought her to me, Shoukaku. She's telling you the truth."

What truth?

Shoukaku chuckled. "Shinigami Dayuu, he can read the lines of your past, present, and future."

A prescient chill descended over her. "So you're a fortune teller?"

The man (alien?) laughed. "Not really."

Behind him, a young boy was peeking out curiously, for it'd been a while since he'd seen visitors near the ship. Tsukuyo tilted her head, frowning as she tried to remember why he looked so familiar when the picture of him, unbidden, came flashing into her mind, and she opened her mouth.

"Kamui!"

He scowled, more irritated than surprised. "How'd you know my name?"

Batou calmly turned around. "She's met your father."

Kamui looked at her, up and down. "Tell him to fuck off," he said angrily. "I don't care how you met him, but if you see him again, tell him he can go fuck himself."

Tsukuyo lit up her pipe, and took a puff of smoke, before she released it. "What would your mother think?"

His fists curled into tiny balls. "Doesn't matter. She's dying now."

The Courtesan of Death looked at him, for a very long time, and when she spoke, her voice was soft. "I see."

She'd been the same age as he was now when she was first sold into Yoshiwara, and she still hadn't forgotten what it was like to be bereft of a family.

Kamui swallowed uneasily, unsettled by her gaze that was more sympathetic than fearful. It'd been a while since anyone had looked at him with kindness, and the resemblance between her and Kouka was uncanny. For a second, he'd considered going home, just to see his mother again - but then he remembered the heartache would be enough to kill him slowly. That reason had been enough to explain why he'd left in the first place.

"You're free to stay here, Kamui," Tsukuyo said finally, breaking the silence between the two of them. "As long as you don't hurt a single woman in this city, I don't mind aliens or samurai staying here."

He didn't reply.

After that, the lot of them - the adults, anyway - discussed the terms and negotiations not too long after that in the room of Shoukaku's spaceship, but later, she knew she would be writing a letter to the address that Umibouzu had given her.

That night, Hinowa had questioned Tsukuyo why she had allowed two of the most dangerous Amanto in the universe to disembark their ships near Yoshiwara. She didn't have much evidence to go with - she had simply used her intuition and had concluded that they possessed a similar level of strength that Hosen held. But she wasn't incorrect, either, and Tsukuyo knew she owed her sister a proper explanation.

She tried explaining to the Sun Courtesan that they weren't dangerous. That at the end of the day, they were people - or at least, sentient beings that had the right to exist just like anybody else. Something told her that they weren't there just to take down the Tendoshuu. And despite her training, she tended to follow her heart more than logic would entail. Perhaps it was the influence of Gintoki rubbing off of her.

Hinowa had sighed, and said, "If you say so, Tsukki... " and had left it at that, retiring to her room for the night.

Left alone to her thoughts, Tsukuyo started to ground the stick of sumi ink into the well, and paused at intermittent moments, thinking of the words to say before she dipped a brush onto the paper. When she started, her handwriting was shaky, but always moving in the right direction.

Dear Kouka,

You might not know me, but...

-x-

"So it's true, then," Takasugi said, leaning back on his chair.

"Yes."

Another week meant there was another strategy meeting. The Joui four were meeting up again, antsy after another month of preparation, and for once Gintoki could say that more action than indecision was decided. The assault on Kyou was really happening.

"So that's why some of their allies were interested in investing in our cause," Sakamoto said, surprised. "I would have never guessed why."

"Traitors," Katsura spat out, his contempt heavy. "They'd rather have their clan be more powerful than think of the country."

"Much as I'd like to take the Hitotsubashi up on their offer, I doubt whether they'd listen to us after we did all the hard work," Takasugi mused. "I care not for men who may not stay loyal once they're faced with the Amanto. What say you, Gintoki?"

"I agree with you," he said. "I think they'd flee the moment they saw a stun gun."

That brought a chuckle from all of them.

"Very well then. We won't use their troops," Takasugi decided. "Anything else to report?"

"I took out a few of the Naraku a few nights ago, but it only confirmed what we already knew. The Bakufu are using them as secret agents after they displaced the Oniwaban. Which would render our previous intelligence on the Oniwaban useless. "

"Right," the commander of Kiheitai said, his eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought. "But do you think the Oniwaban are for or against the cause?"

"Neither. They have no loyalty; it depends on who is commissioning them," Gintoki said. Or if you counted Tsukuyo, maybe it was the case of who they slept with, but he wasn't going to talk about that now.

"I trust your judgment," the commander said. "Well, as nobody has any objections so far, the advance will continue as planned. Meeting dismissed."

As the three of them walked out of Takasugi's tent, Sakamoto cleared his throat. "Gintoki, wanna get something to eat?" The Tosa soldier gave him a meaningful look, and Gintoki knew it was something more serious than just a meal. Katsura nodded, parting ways with them as he had to go over the drills one last time with his own troops.

They walked to a makeshift tent that had served as a temporary canteen; the friendly sergeant-cook greeted the two senior soldiers, happy to ladle them hot rations of rice gruel into their trays which they took to a campfire as they sat on the logs nearby.

"So?" Gintoki asked, shoveling the tasteless lunch down as fast as he could. "What's up?"

"I'm sick of this shit," Sakamoto said, who was not as hungry. "I'm leaving."

Gintoki, who'd by now heard this endless times from an endless amount of men, shrugged. "Can't. Got that raid to do in Kyou - it'd fall apart without you. Unless you're serious about it - then I'd better tell Takasugi before you bail."

"It ain't that. I'm talking about after."

Gintoki wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "How are you going to leave? You think Sugi is going to let you go, just like that?"

"I'll figure out a way," Sakamoto said, blowing on a spoonful of gruel to cool it down before eating. "I wanna go to space."

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"I said okay. I mean, I don't really know how you'll make it happen, but if you can swindle greedy daimyos out of their fortunes to fund this war, then I know you'll probably end up fine."

"Eh?! Kintoki, you're not gonna beg me to stay?"

"Why would I? And hey, weren't you calling my real name earlier? Oi!"

"You're not going to miss me?"

"For fuck's sake, Tatsuma - of course I would. But you know as well as anybody else that we're losing, and if any soldier here had some sense he'd leave, too. It's just they're too tied to the notion of sacrifice and duty to go, but - " At this Gintoki shrugged again.

"Then why do you stay, then?"

"Because I have to. I made a promise to someone that I'd protect my friends, and I ain't turning my back on that."

"If you're talking about Shoyou-sensei, then - "

"Of course I am. I wouldn't give a damn if it was some lord or shogun - not even Takasugi himself make me do something like that, if I didn't want to. But those two fools won't give up on The Cause, so neither will I until they think it's well and truly lost."

His friend was thoughtful as he ate more of his gruel. "D'you think you'll ever find him?"

"Hope so."

It had been an agonizing, arduous long search, of which had taken up more than five years since the mysterious Naraku had showed up at Shoka Sonjuku and burned the entire school down. At first, the three of them - Katsura, Takasugi, and Gintoki - had thought such a powerful enemy would have been well known far and wide, and they had roamed the countryside for a while, trying to look for such a foe, but to no avail. As soon as they had appeared, they had disappeared just as quickly into thin air, to where some days Gintoki was half convinced it had all been a giant illusion. To Katsura and Takasugi, this had established a deep hatred in them towards the Amanto, for Shoyou-sensei had been the epitome of kindness, of intelligence - a rebel in his own way - but had done nothing to warrant justified arrest from the Bakufu. As such, they had joined the Jouishishi movement as soon as they turned sixteen, and quickly rose up in rank as their exceptional swordsmanship had proved reliable in uncertain times.

Still, it wasn't as if it was a completely lost cause. Although there was no definitive proof of it, the three of them had believed wholeheartedly that Shoyou was still alive, out there, somewhere - and that the Naraku had not yet executed him. Their beliefs stemmed from the fact that the Bakufu had not yet capitalized on the opportunity to publish anti-Joui propaganda, which they kept an eye out for every time they stopped by a mid-ranged city. If Shoyou-sensei was dead, surely a newspaper would have reported it by now, for Shoyou had been somewhat notorious for teaching beliefs that were radical for their time, to the point where he was forced to relocate the school almost three times during the course of their childhoods due to potential arrest. Even the fact that most of the students were poor orphans could not prevent suspicion, especially in a feudal society that were wary of new ways of thinking and living.

Tatsuma had thought it all a fantastic lie at first, but that had been before he had been in combat with the Amanto. After his first skirmish, he believed the three of them completely; if monsters with large claws firing weapons faster and more effective than gunpowder existed, it was just as likely that there were mysterious groups of people out there who kidnapped teachers with contrarian agendas to the Bakufu. Stranger things had happened, after all.

But now, like Gintoki, he'd expressed doubt for the cause. Although the first Joui war had been over ten years ago, the burgeoning presence of the Amanto was growing too fast to be ignored, and now that they'd taken over the government and had effectively displaced the samurai class, he had drawn the conclusion that it was time for Japan to adapt to a more modern way of living. What good was fighting for the samurai if their weapons were second-rate, if they were flattened every other skirmish, if the government was already against their side?

-x-

As the men trudged to Kyou in broad daylight, they were careful to not draw attention and took alternate, less-traveled roads. To a passersby it simply looked like a horde of merchants; in a cluster of five there would be one man carrying a straw basket. Unknown to others, it would conceal five of the samurai's swords lest someone from the Bakufu would report them of suspicious wrongdoing, which would have been disastrous at so early this point of the plan. Tatsuma was in charge of protecting a solitary wagon; inside there were barrels of stuffed straw filled with guns of the latest make and ten models of signal flares that would be distributed later. Gintoki had taken the opportunity to sit next to him, dozing off intermittently.

He hadn't told anybody about Sakamoto's plan to desert the army; he thought it wasn't anyone's place to critique what a man should or shouldn't do. But it had made the time left he had to spend with the soldier more precious. For all the doubts and misgivings Gintoki had about war, and the utter uselessness of the destruction it brought on the civilians, it had produced the finest gift to mankind: comradeship.

"So tell me about Tsukuyo," Sakamoto said abruptly, grinning as Gintoki sputtered; he'd been in the middle of taking a drink of water from his flask. Ever since he'd walked on the Shiroyasha writing a letter to someone - which, as far as he was considered, had never happened in the almost three to four years that he'd known him - his curiosity had been piqued, but it was only through snooping through Gintoki's tent that he finally was able to find out the recipient's name.

After his throat cleared up, and he was able to speak coherently - "What the fuck, Tatsuma - wait, why do you care?"

"Dunno. I mean, you write letters. I thought you were too lazy to do that kind of stuff."

"If I didn't, she'd probably rip my balls off next time I see her," the white-haired soldier mumbled.

"Hahahahaha - what does that even mean?! Does that mean you're in love?"

"Sheddep! And no," Gintoki retorted. "That's not a word they use in Yoshiwara, anyhow."

"So... how much do you pay each time?"

"I don't have to pay," he said, irritated. "She's not that kind of woman, either."

"So if she's not someone you have to pay, and you're not in love with her... " Sakamoto frowned. "Ehhh?! So you're using for her for her body! How cold, Kintoki!"

"No, I'm telling you it's not like that!" He sighed. "It's... complicated. She doesn't believe in love. And... I don't really see how we could be together for real, anyway. But I do like her a lot."

"Sounds a hell of a lot like love," Sakamoto teased.

"Ain't that. Besides, it's not like she couldn't find some other guy." Although the idea made him pretty angry the longer he thought about it. "She deserves someone else better, anyway."

"Huh... sounds kinda complicated."

"It's Yoshiwara. How is it complicated? Let's say if things got serious, and we got married. Then after I come back here on the battleground, and with any luck I'll get my head blown off - what the hell would you expect to happen? She's better off not hoping for anything at all."

"Does she know that, though?"

"Of course she does. She grew up there."

"Kintoki, it doesn't matter. Sooner or later, people are going to hope for more. Remember that widow that Zura seduced in Shimonoseki? She keeps sending him letters asking when he's gonna come back."

"That's Zura's fault and anyways, even if she married him, eventually she'd see what a loser he is - "

"But that's not my point. It doesn't matter if this woman was raised in Yoshiwara. Once they all start reading those romantic novels, they'll start to have these wild expectations - you know, settling down, raising children - "

"I'm telling you, she's really not that kind of woman. She doesn't read romantic novels, anyway. She'd rather read books on how to kill people in the middle of the day."

"EH?! You better tell me more. Is she beautiful?"

"I guess - but she's more than pretty." Gintoki took a swig of water from his flask, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "She's... kind. And really strong. I dunno, she protects the women over there; she cares about the kids. She'd die for them if she had to."

Sounds like you, Sakamoto thought, but kept it to himself. "Oh? So she's not a courtesan? From her name I expected some goddess of the moon."

"She is, and isn't. When I first met her, she really hated my guts."

"It was probably your fault," he said, to which Gintoki snapped back, "Don't wanna hear that from you, Tatsuma." But once Gintoki got started on a topic, he didn't mind pontificating even if he was rudely interrupted; he was used to it especially from the idiocy of the Joui Four. "She's probably with me out of pity, anyhow. I got rid of a monster in her cage, so she thinks she owes me one."

"I don't think women work that way, Kintoki."

"This one does. She's different."

Sakamoto sighed. For someone who was mostly emotionally intelligent about people, Gintoki could be awfully dense about how others perceived him. He knew enough to push people into doing his work for him, but not when to detach when the situation called for it; leaving him in an especially vulnerable state during the battlefield. Gintoki was a walking paradox who cared too much for his friends, but never realized that others cared for him, too.

"So let's say she is different. Why keep the charade? Why wouldn't you break it off, then?"

"I'm gambling. That's all it is. I want to make the world a better place, and so does she. So if I come outta this mess alive, then... " He shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe we'll work it out. But for now, it's not really that important."

"Living one day at a time, eh? I wish I could see things that way," Sakamoto said.

His companion grinned, and replied "That's the only way to live, in my opinion."

They sat in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts, until Gintoki closed his eyes once more, dozing off in the warm sunlight. After all, they would need it, especially before tonight's big event.

-x-

Dead at night, Kyou was a silent city that expected nothing out of the ordinary to happen. At precisely three o'clock in the evening, Katsura lit up the signal flare, and his squad threw bombs at the nearby Amanto embassy, which had been completely empty at that time. Still, the explosion did the job as intended, and the whistles alerting the guards in case of an emergency had been blown. A rush of men ran towards the building, hasty in pouring water over the fire, for it would spread if they weren't careful. As of now, the diversion was a success.

Separated into a different part of town, and standing on the top of a nearby hill, Sakamoto and his troops lifted their rifles, cocked and ready to shoot. At the other end of the Amanto-owned Altana port, Takasugi unsheathed his sword, Gintoki doing the same behind him.

"Let's go," the commander of the Kiheitai said quietly - knowing that everyone was waiting for his next move, and smiled to himself.

-x-

- tbc -

-x-

a/n: A lot of buildup for things to come. I keep introducing all these characters but they all have a purpose, trust me! lol

In case readers forgot who Neptune Shoukaku was, he's the gorilla who fought against Katsura in the Rakuyo arc. I enjoyed his personality a lot, actually. He was more memorable in my opinion than Enshou, lmao. Pluto Batou is that weird dude with three eyeballs who fights against Pakuyasha.