Silver Moon – Book 1 Chapter 3

A few hours had passed since Seita had opened his birthday presents and it seemed like everyone was tired. It was starting to get late, and it appeared that the party members were starting to nod off, one by one. First Kagura fell asleep, then a little while later Hinowa, soon followed by Shinpachi and Seita respectively.

On the contrary, Tsukuyo felt wide-awake. She had spent the last few hours waiting for an opportunity to get Gintoki alone to talk, but to no avail. The last few hours had been spent playing games with the birthday boy non-stop while she waited for her opportunity. After a while, Gintoki just disappeared, saying something about getting some fresh air. That had been a short while ago, before everyone else fell asleep.

Tsukuyo looked at all the sleeping people in the room with her and she smiled. It looks like they all had a long day she thought to herself. She decided to walk out of the room into a hallway and then down to a closet. When she came back, she was carrying several light blankets in her arms. She carefully placed one on each of the silent sleepers, doing her best to not wake them up.

When Tsukuyo was finished, she looked at them all again. They all look comfortable now she thought. She felt content just to stand there and watch them all sleep, but she decided that now was the best time to make her move.

Now that everyone's asleep, it will be easy to get Gintoki alone. I just need to find him. And with that, Tsukuyo left the living room and went searching for the silver-haired samurai.

After looking around for a little while, Tsukuyo found Gintoki. He was upstairs outside on the veranda. He was leaning on the railing, looking up at the moon. The moon was large and full, bringing a fairly bright light down on to Yoshiwara.

Tsukuyo walked out on to the veranda and started approaching him. "There you are, Gintoki," she said.

He looked behind him and noticed that she was there. "Oh, it's you," he said, turning his head back around.

Tsukuyo stopped a short ways behind him. Is he still ignoring me? she wondered. I don't have time for this; I need to talk to him. Tsukuyo wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to say, but she knew that she wanted to talk to him. I want to find out why he helped me, but then what? Will I thank him? Should I thank him? Does he deserve it even though he's been an ass all day?

She decided to take a breath and calm down. I'll figure all that out later. For now I should just focus on getting him to talk to me. "What are you doing out here, Gintoki?" she asked.

He replied without looking at her. "I'm just enjoying the springtime weather. I didn't get a chance since I've been inside all day." He seemed really calm and at peace, truly happy just to be outside.

"Was the party too much for you?" she asked.

"No, I just wanted a break is all," he said plainly.

A moment of silence fell between the two, but then Gintoki spoke up again. "What are you doing out here?" he asked. "I thought you didn't want to see me."

Tsukuyo sighed. I did say that, didn't I? "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean it, I was just upset."

"Upset with who?" he asked, still watching the moon.

"I was upset with you…and with myself," she admitted. She paused a moment waiting to see if he would say anything, but he just kept silent. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "May I join you out here?"

"Well, if you're truly sorry, I guess I can allow it," he said with a smile. He looked back at her and tapped on the railing next to him, indicating that Tsukuyo should come stand next to him.

It looks like he's forgiven me she thought. She walked over to where Gintoki had indicated and joined him on the railing.

"Is the party still going on?" he asked.

"Not really, everyone else fell asleep," she replied.

"I see."

Another moment of silence fell between them. "Gintoki," she began, "can we talk about what happened tonight?" She looked over at him, waiting for his reply.

"What do you mean?" he asked without looking at her.

"Can we talk about how you gave Seita a present saying it was from me?" she said, revealing that she had figured out the truth.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he insisted, still not looking at her. "You must have had a present for him the whole time and had just forgotten about it," he said simply.

Tsukuyo was starting to get angry with him. "Cut the crap, Gintoki. I know what you did. Just admit it."

Gintoki sighed and finally looked at her. "Fine, it's true. I made it look like my present was from you," he confessed. "Happy now?" he asked.

Tsukuyo could see that she was making progress with him. "Why did you do that?" she asked nicely.

"There were a couple of reasons," he said, looking at the moon again. "No doubt that if I hadn't done that, you would have sulked about it all night long."

"That's not true," she said, trying to defend herself. However, despite what she said, Tsukuyo agreed that what Gintoki predicted would probably have been the case.

"I also figured that the gift would mean a lot more coming from you then it would from me," he said plainly. "Seita doesn't care that I didn't get him anything. He's just happy his older sister got him something."

Tsukuyo didn't know what to say. Since when did he care about our happiness? she wondered. Isn't this the same selfish bastard that's been an asshole to me all day? He's starting to act all sweet again.

Before Tsukuyo could figure out what to say, Gintoki added another comment that surprised her. "I don't know, I guess I just couldn't stand to see a woman's tears," he said.

Tsukuyo looked at him, shocked at what she had just heard. "What are you talking about?" she asked slowly, scared to hear what his answer would be.

"I saw you crying earlier. I felt bad for you," he explained.

"I-I wasn't crying earlier," she stuttered, trying to hide the truth.

"Yes you were, I saw a tear in your eye," said Gintoki empathetically.

"I wasn't crying," she repeated. It was true that earlier, a couple of tears might have formed in her eye, but she didn't want Gintoki to know that. It was embarrassing for her. She liked to think that she was tough and that nothing would push her to tears. Tsukuyo felt that if Gintoki saw her crying, he would think of her as weak. She didn't want him thinking that; she felt that he would only make fun of her.

"It's okay to admit it, you know?" he said seriously as if he knew what she was thinking. He was now looking right at her. "Crying isn't a sign of weakness, it shows that you care deeply about something. I could definitely tell that you care a lot about Seita. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Tsukuyo listened to his words, and they made her feel better. It's like he knows what I'm thinking she thought. What he says makes sense though. It is true that I care about Seita and what he thinks of me. I was dreading disappointing him tonight, but Gintoki saved me by giving up his own gift. That was truly kind of him. I guess he really does have a heart.

Tsukuyo looked at Gintoki. "Thank you," she said. "Truly, thank you, Gintoki."

"For what?" he asked, pretending like he didn't know what she was talking about.

"For what you did tonight," she explained patiently. "For giving up your present, for making me feel better. Thank you."

Gintoki smiled at her. "Don't worry about it," he said, as if it was no big deal.

The two stood in silence for a brief moment.

"Where did you get it anyway?" asked Tsukuyo. "The gift, I mean."

"Oh, that?" said Gintoki. "I paid Gengai to build something for him. That robot was what he came up with."

"What do I owe you?" asked Tsukuyo, wanting to pay him for it since he had given it to her.

"Huh?" he said. "You don't owe me anything. Consider it a gift from me to you."

"I can't do that, Gintoki. That wouldn't be fair to you."

"Trust me," he said. "Even if I hadn't wanted to give my present up for you, I couldn't have done it. I felt so bad that I couldn't have done anything but help you out. It's my own fault for being such an idiot. Don't worry about it."

Tsukuyo looked at him with a frown. "Don't think that you can do something like this and expect me to do nothing in return. I truly appreciate what you did for me, Gintoki. Now let me repay you for it."

Gintoki looked at her and realized she was serious. He knew that she wouldn't let it go unless he let her do something for him. "Fine, if you really want to do something for me, then buy me a parfait."

"A parfait?" asked Tsukuyo, a little confused.

"Yes, I would be truly happy if you took me out and bought me a parfait."

Tsukuyo smiled to herself. Is that all it takes to make him happy? He's so simple sometimes. "Alright," she agreed. "I promise to buy you a parfait, whenever you like."

Gintoki smiled back at her, before looking at the moon again. "I would really appreciate it," he said.

A few minutes passed in silence between the two. They were both staring up at the full moon, entranced by its beauty. They didn't mind standing next to each other in silence. They were simply happy to enjoy each other's company.

It's a beautiful sight thought Gintoki, looking at the large moon. He looked over at Tsukuyo to see her also looking at the moon. She had a smile on her face, showing that she was enjoying the sight too.

Gintoki continued looking at her, suddenly entranced by a new moon that had come into his vision. She looks kind of cute when she's smiling he thought to himself.

He suddenly paused. Did I really just think that she's cute? I've never thought that about her before, have I? Why am I thinking these things now? He tried to look away from her, but he couldn't. He was entranced.

I want to look away he thought. But at the same time, I just want to keep staring at her. I…I like it when she smiles. At that moment, he stopped trying to look away and just gave in to his feelings. He felt content, just watching Tsukuyo smile.

Suddenly, Tsukuyo noticed that Gintoki was staring at her and she looked over at him. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked, wondering what he was up to.

Gintoki didn't choose the words that he said next. They just came out of his mouth, as if it were the right thing to say. He said them calmly and cool.

"Is it wrong to stare at a pretty woman?" he asked.

Tsukuyo immediately blushed upon hearing this. He thinks I'm pretty? she thought to herself.

Her heart soon started beating hard inside her chest. Tsukuyo had always had some feelings for Gintoki, but she had never voiced them out loud to him. She had never thought that he might actually like her too. He had never said anything that would make her think that. That was, until now.

All of these thoughts just made her nervous to be in front of him. It didn't help that she was already blushing. He's being so calm about it. What should I say? I don't want to screw this up.

Tsukuyo took her eyes off of Gintoki; she couldn't stand to see him staring at her any longer. It just made her more nervous. "Um, thank you, Gintoki," she began. "Nobody ever complements me like that."

"I'll bet people would, if you weren't so closed off to everyone you know," he said seriously.

Tsukuyo looked back at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You always keep your feelings to yourself, you never let anyone know what's going on with you," said Gintoki. "You even did it tonight. You tried to hide how badly you felt and told us to not worry about helping you."

Tsukuyo thought about his words, and realized they were true. "Well, what's wrong with that?" she asked. "I don't need other people worrying themselves over me. I can take care of myself. I don't want to trouble someone else with my problems. You're the same way, Gintoki," she pointed out.

"No I'm not," he said, a little embarrassed to be accused of the same thing he had accused her of.

"Yes, you like to shoulder the burden alone and resolve things without involving your friends," said Tsukuyo. She was right. Gintoki had always tried to keep the people he cared about out of danger if he felt he could deal with it alone. That was just how he did things, and Tsukuyo was the same way.

"Yeah right, what do I care what happens to those idiots?" he said, trying to convince Tsukuyo that she was wrong.

"I think you care more than you let people know," she said. She gave him a smile to show that she liked that he cared about his friends. "It's kind of sweet," she said.

To Tsukuyo's surprise, Gintoki looked away from her and started blushing. He was embarrassed that she knew him so well, despite the fact that he tried to hide his feelings from his friends. "Whatever," he said. "All I'm saying is that if you weren't so closed off to people, you could probably get yourself a man."

Tsukuyo's smile disappeared. "Get myself a man?" she repeated slowly, a little agitated at Gintoki. "What makes you think I want a man?" she asked with clenched teeth.

Gintoki looked back at Tsukuyo, happy that he able to get the focus of the conversation off of himself and onto her. She's kind of cute when she's angry too. Maybe I should make her angrier he thought with a smile.

"Well, you are from Yoshiwara," he said. "You probably can't wait to jump into bed with every man you see."

"SHUT UP!" screamed Tsukuyo. She instinctively threw another kunai at Gintoki's head to show him how angry she was.

However, unlike the previous kunai she had thrown, this one did not reach its target. Gintoki held the weapon in between two of his fingers. He had caught it before it had a chance to enter his forehead.

"Sheesh, calm down," he said nonchalantly. "It was only a joke. If you put any more of these in my head, I'm going to get a giant scar." He was now swinging the kunai around his finger as if he didn't care that it almost injured him a second ago.

Tsukuyo was still steaming, but she didn't know how to respond. 'If you don't want me throwing kunai in your head then shut up' was what she wanted to say. However, she refrained from saying that and decided on something even better to say. Something that would embarrass him as much as he embarrassed her.

"Well, you could probably get yourself a woman if you weren't such an ass!" she shouted.

Gintoki stopped spinning his kunai and looked at Tsukuyo with a smile on his face. "Is that really what you think?" he asked. He was now looking her right in the eye.

Tsukuyo looked away. She couldn't stand it when their eyes met. For some reason, it made her nervous. Damn it, why is he smiling? That comment was supposed to piss him off, yet he's acting so cool about it. Even though I'm trying to upset him, he just plays it off like it's nothing.

Tsukuyo didn't really know what to say at that point, so she just decided to keep silent. She looked over at Gintoki to see that he was no longer looking at her, but once again at the moon. They stood in silence for a little while longer until Gintoki finally spoke up.

"Well, it's starting to get late," he said. "We should probably head home."

"I guess you're right," she agreed. Tsukuyo didn't really want him to leave, but she couldn't think of anything that she wanted to say to him at that moment. She figured it was probably best to say farewell for the night.

Gintoki walked back inside the house with Tsukuyo following behind.

Gintoki and Tsukuyo walked into the living room to find that everyone was still asleep.

Gintoki started clapping his hands together. "Alright, wake up you two," he called out. "We have work to do in the morning so we need to head out."

Shinpachi, Kagura, and Hinowa all slowly woke up and realized what was going on. They were all yawning and rubbing their eyes, trying to help themselves wake up a little bit more. Seita was still passed out on the floor, too tired to even notice the commotion.

"Gin-chan, will you carry me home?" asked Kagura with a big yawn. "I'm too tired to walk."

"Yeah right, I'm tired too," he said. "I'm not carrying you all the way back the surface and then some." Even though Gintoki honestly wasn't that tired, he was just too lazy to give in to Kagura's request.

"Thank you for inviting us, Hinowa," said Shinpachi, trying to be polite. "Tell Seita that we all wish him a happy birthday."

Hinowa smiled at the group. "Of course," she said. "Thank you all for coming and helping. Before you go, let me get you your pay."

"No, don't worry about it," said Gintoki. He currently had a drowsy Kagura holding on to his arm, trying to stay standing up and awake. "It's best if we go home now before it gets any later. Just give us the pay the next time you see us." He started making his way to the front, dragging Kagura along with him.

"Well, if you're sure," she said. "You all have a good night, ok? Tsukuyo, why don't you show them the way out?" she asked, looking at Tsukuyo.

"They already know the way out," she said simply.

"Yes, but it looks like Gin-san could use a little help," she insisted, pointing at the barely-awake girl attached to his arm.

"Fine," Tsukuyo agreed.

She helped them out into the front where she assisted in putting Kagura's shoes back on her feet. When Gintoki and Shinpachi had their own shoes on, Tsukuyo opened the door for them so they could walk out. Shinpachi went out on his way, but Gintoki stopped at the doorway, Kagura still clinging to him.

He looked over at Tsukuyo and said, "I'll be here on Tuesday, around 5:00."

"What?" she asked, a little confused.

"That's when I want my parfait. Tuesday around 5:00," he explained. "Will that work for you?" he asked.

Tsukuyo didn't even have to think about it. Being the leader of Yoshiwara's police force, she was free to work or take off whenever she wanted. "That will be fine," she told him.

He smiled, happy to hear that she had accepted his proposal. "Good, I'll see you then," he said.

With that, he walked out the door with Kagura's feet dragging behind. Tsukuyo stood in the doorway, watching Gintoki try to catch up to Shinpachi. After walking a short distance, she noticed that he stopped. He made Kagura release her grasp on him, and then he slowly picked her up. He then continued walking, carrying the sleeping girl in his arms.

Tsukuyo smiled upon seeing this. He does care more than he lets people know she thought. He's not so bad. He's just a sweet guy who is an ass every once in a while. She then walked back inside and closed the door behind her.

Meanwhile, down the street, Gintoki was deep in thought as he walked along with Kagura in his arms. He was thinking about what he had done for Tsukuyo that night, and what he had said earlier on the veranda.

I think that she's cute, and I enjoy being around her he thought. Maybe it's possible…that I actually like her.

Gintoki continued to think about this as he walked on in silence through the streets. He didn't stop thinking about it until he was at home in bed and asleep.

Author: Well, what should we talk about today, Gintoki?

Gintoki: Let's talk about the title of the story: "Silver Moon".

Author: Ok. What's wrong with the title?

Gintoki: Why do you assume something's wrong with it?

Author: Well, you always seem to criticize the story in this segment, so I assume that since you want to talk about the title there is something wrong with it.

Gintoki: You're right. The title sucks.

Author: I knew it…

Gintoki: First off, why "Silver Moon"? What does that even mean? Is the moon even silver in this story?

Author: Well, no. I got the word 'Silver' from 'Gin' and the word 'Moon' from 'Tsukuyo'. It's like I put your names together to get the title. I think it's a pretty good title too.

Gintoki: Yeah, it was a good title for this awful chapter. It seems like all we did was stare at the freaking moon.

Author: …There was nothing better to look at…

Gintoki: Anyway, the readers will probably be misled by the title.

Author: I doubt they're expecting an actual silver moon.

Gintoki: No, I'm saying they'll think that this story is about a series other than Gintama. It sounds awfully similar to "Sailor Moon".

Author: Um…yeah, I guess so…

Gintoki: It also sounds like "Silver Spoon".

Author: Well, I've never even seen/read those series before anyway so I can't be blamed. Besides, it should be obvious that this is a Gintama story.

Gintoki: The worst-case scenario is that the readers will think it's a crossover between "Sailor Moon" and "Silver Spoon".

Author: The only thing crossing over in this story is yours and Tsukuyo's feelings for each other.

Gintoki: I'd rather read the crossover…

Author: Whatever, I'm done talking to you. Feel free to leave a review and look forward to the next chapter!