Silver Moon – Book 2 Chapter 2
It was just another calm and peaceful evening over at Snack House Otose. Business was pretty slow and the building was mostly empty. It was just one of those quiet nights where you could sit back and relax while you worked. After all, only three people sat at the bar, and they weren't even paying customers.
It was the usual Odd Jobs trio and they were taking an opportunity to unwind in the comfort of the empty business. Gintoki and Shinpachi were quietly sitting in their seats while Kagura was in the middle of stuffing her face with food. Across the counter stood Otose, who was currently wiping a glass with a clean cloth. Tama was sweeping the floor and Catherine was taking note of the snack house's inventory.
After a while, Otose softly set her glass down as she glanced around the room. "It looks like we won't be getting a lot of customers tonight. I guess I'll have to settle for you three," she said, her eyes landing on the Odd Jobs crew.
"Thank you for letting us stay here even though we're not customers, Otose-san," said Shinpachi, trying to be respectful.
"Yes, well, normally I would kick the three of you out so you wouldn't be in the way of the customers, but since it's so slow, I'll make an exception. After all, I suppose I am rather fond of you three."
"That's right, Gran," said Gintoki, giving her a confident smile. "It looks like for better or for worse, you're stuck with us."
"Is that so?" asked Otose, clearly not intimidated. "I'll bet if I raised the rent you'd all start running as fast as you could."
Gintoki gave her a smirk, as he was also unafraid. "Let's be honest, you're not going to do that. You would be too lonely around here with the three of us gone."
Catherine suddenly turned away from the shelf in front of her and yelled at Gintoki. "Yeah right!" she shouted. "Otose-san wouldn't be lonely. She has us here to keep her company."
"It would certainly be a lot quieter," mumbled Otose.
Kagura stopped eating for a second in order to join the conversation. "You would miss us if we were gone, wouldn't you Gran?"
"That's not really important," she said, dodging the question. "By the way, don't you guys have anything better to do than to just sit around in here all day?"
"Not really," said Gintoki. "We just came in here to relax ourselves."
Otose crossed her arms as she looked at the samurai. "Tsukuyo hasn't been coming around lately, whatever happened to her?"
"Why do you care about that?" asked Gintoki, surprised at the question.
"I'm just wondering what happened to her is all," said Otose with a shrug. "She didn't break up with you, did she?"
"Of course not!" shouted Gintoki, starting to get defensive. "Why would she do that?"
"Well, you are kind of a mess," said Otose.
"You can be lazy and unmotivated at times," Tama chimed in.
"You're an idiot," said Catherine.
"Come to think of it, Gin-san, it has been a while since Tsukuyo-san has come over to see you," added Shinpachi.
"Yeah, what's Tsukky been up to?" asked Kagura, her mouth full of food.
Gintoki simply sighed and addressed everyone in a calm manner. "Look, Tsukuyo's been busy dealing with something in her city. They're currently going through a lot of changes and she hasn't had a lot of time to herself."
"Oh," said Otose, suddenly getting interested. "Does this have something to do with that new overlord I heard about?"
"Yeah, I guess Yoshiwara is beginning to adjust to life under his rule."
"You know, I heard he's been quite the catch in that city. I've even heard that the citizens are already emotionally attached."
"Yeah, Tsukuyo has told me a little about him. She really seems to like him and she claims that he's been doing good things for the city."
Kagura stopped eating for a moment and turned towards Gintoki. "Gin-chan, do you think that they'll be okay with a new overlord? I mean, the old one was…" she trailed off.
Gintoki just stared at her and then gave her a reassuring smile. "I think they'll be just fine," he said. "Tsukuyo has been very careful in dealing with this guy, and she still seems to really like him. I trust her judgment."
Otose gave a sigh as she started to light a cigarette. "In that case, it's understandable that the city is so preoccupied right now. Tsukuyo must be working hard to keep everything in order while changes are being made."
"Yeah, even now she's probably keeping busy with something," said Gintoki.
"Then I guess Tsukky no longer has time for you, huh?" said Kagura, once again starting to eat.
"What? No, that's not it!" shouted Gintoki.
"Face it, Gin-chan. Tsukky no longer has time to deal with an idiot like you. Don't worry though; it's nothing to be sad about. We all knew this was going to happen eventually."
"What are you talking about?" shouted Gintoki, starting to get annoyed.
"Isn't it obvious? She's finally realized what a handful you are and she's starting to move on. But it's okay, even if she dumps you, we'll always love you."
"She's not breaking up with me!" shouted Gintoki, slamming his hands down on the table.
In response, Kagura simply started laughing and the other women soon joined in. Gintoki's defensive behavior was just too funny.
Shinpachi quietly leaned over and put a hand Gintoki's shoulder. "Calm down, Gin-san, she's only teasing you."
"Whatever," he said. "Just you wait, Kagura. Someday you'll have a boyfriend and then I'll get the chance to tease you about it."
"Pfft, that's not gonna happen," said Kagura, clearly not worried. "I'm never getting a boyfriend."
"Really?" said Gintoki, starting to grin as an idea came into his head. "That's funny, because you seemed really interested in that young handsome guy in the Shinsengumi. What was his name again? Okita?"
At the mention of his name, Kagura's expression immediately started to sour. "I'm not interested in that sadist," she said in the most serious tone.
"Calm on now, don't be shy. It's okay to like a tax robber like him. No matter what happens, we'll always love you," said Gintoki, starting to mock her words.
"Shut up! You should know better than anyone that I hate that asshole!" she replied, her anger starting to show.
Shinpachi then decided to intervene and try and stop his two friends from arguing. "Gin-san, maybe you shouldn't-"
But it was too late. Gintoki was enjoying himself too much and he was ready to push Kagura over the edge. "Admit it," he said quietly, "you have a crush on him, don't you?"
"SHUT UP!"
"All right, all right, that's enough!" Otose suddenly shouted. "Both of you better calm down before you do something stupid and wreck my shop."
"Yes, can't we just stop the fighting?" asked Shinpachi with a sigh.
Gintoki and Kagura both looked at each other before also giving a sigh. "Fine," they agreed.
"Good, now do your best and try to get along," said Shinpachi. "It's not good to see you two fighting all the time."
After that, the whole room seemed to go silent. Catherine and Tama went back to work while Otose started staring at Gintoki. She quietly pulled her cigarette out of her mouth and held it between her fingers. "By the way," she told him, "you do realize that Valentines Day is approaching, don't you?"
Upon hearing this, Gintoki just stared back at Otose with a slightly confused look. "Of course I know that. I look forward to Valentines Day every year. It's the day where I can get a lot of chocolate for free if I'm lucky."
Otose just stared at the samurai with a blank expression. "Are you going to do anything with Tsukuyo on that day?"
"Huh? Oh, well, I hope she's going to give me some chocolate or something…"
In response, Otose could only shake her head in disapproval. "Oh, Gintoki, you're such a mess."
Gintoki stared at the woman in confusion. "What?" he said.
Shinpachi decided to speak up. "I think what Otose-san is saying is that you should get something nice for Tsukuyo-san in return."
"Get something for Tsukuyo? Why?"
Otose glared at the samurai, starting to get angry with him. "Maybe because she's your girlfriend, you idiot!" she shouted.
Tama suddenly walked up from behind Gintoki and joined the conversation. "According to my database, Valentines Day is supposed to be the most romantic day of the year. Many couples exchange gifts on this day to show how much they care about each other."
Gintoki stared at the robot girl for a moment before facing forward again. "So what?" he said. "Tsukuyo already knows how much I care about her. I don't need to get her a gift to prove it."
"Oh, come on, Gin-chan," Kagura whined. "Tsukky would be really happy if you gave her something nice."
"Yeah," agreed Shinpachi. "You're always telling us about how she's working so hard. She deserves something nice for her efforts."
Gintoki gave a sigh and tried to argue once more. "But she already knows-"
"Come on, Gin-chan," Kagura begged.
"Gin-san," said Shinpachi in a stern voice.
Gintoki couldn't take it anymore; he finally gave in. "Alright, alright, fine! I'll get something nice for Tsukuyo, ok? Sheesh."
"Good," said Otose, finally satisfied with his answer. "And don't make it cheap ok? That girl deserves something special."
"Uggh, like what?" asked Gintoki, now holding his head in his hands from the stress.
"Weren't you listening to Tama? Get her something that shows how much you care bout her."
"Can't you just tell me what to get her?"
"This is something you should come up with on your own."
Gintoki could only groan as he thought about the subject. "I can't think of anything," he finally said.
Otose simply put her cigarette back in her mouth and went back to wiping glasses. "Don't worry, you'll think of something. Despite what most people say, you are pretty resourceful when you need to be."
"Aren't you one of those people who usually talk bad about me?"
"That doesn't matter," she replied, "just focus on getting something good for your girlfriend."
Gintoki let out a sigh. "I will," he promised.
Otose gave him a small smile to show that she was satisfied with the man. She started wiping another glass before speaking up again. "You know, she really is a sweet girl, Gintoki. You're very lucky to be with her."
"Yeah, yeah, I know all that," he said, starting to blush a little bit.
"Listen to my advice, Gintoki," said Otose, suddenly getting serious. "You should never let that girl go. In all of the years I've known you, she's the only girl who's ever been willing to go out with an idiot like you. So take good care of her. After all, this might be your only chance to ever find true love."
Once Otose was finished speaking, Gintoki took a moment to consider her words. She's right. Tsukuyo is the only girl who's ever cared for me this much. She really is special. I should let her know that sometime…
"Plus, this could be my only chance to ever get some grandkids," Otose added.
"Wait, what!?" shouted Gintoki as he snapped out of his thoughts. "Grandkids? Where the hell are you getting grandkids from?"
Otose simply stared at Gintoki with a blank face. "From you and Tsukuyo, of course."
"What are you talking about? We're not having kids! Nobody is having kids!"
Upon hearing this, Otose gave a slight snicker. "Well, not right now, of course. But, who knows? Maybe someday in the future you'll want to start a family."
"Yeah right," said Gintoki, casually pointing to Shinpachi and Kagura. "I already have these two kids and they're a handful. I don't need anymore."
"Hey, we're not kids!" Kagura whined.
"Just shut up and eat your dinner," Gintoki told her.
Otose looked back at the samurai and decided to try to convince him one more time. "Come on, Gintoki, won't you give me at least one or two kids that I can treat like grandchildren?"
"Forget it, go and get your own grandkids from someone else."
"Someone else? Like who?" demanded Otose. "Out of all of you kids, you're the only one in a relationship. You're starting to look like my only hope, so try not to let me down, ok?"
"That's it, I'm out of here," said Gintoki as he stood up to leave. "I can't listen to another minute of this annoying conversation."
"Wait a second, Gin-san!" Shinpachi called after him. "Please don't leave, I'm sure she was only teasing you like everyone else. Isn't that right, Otose-san?"
"Um, no, I was being completely serious," said Otose with a straight face.
"Do you really care that much about being a grandma!?" Shinpachi shouted at her.
Kagura turned around and watched the samurai walk away. "Gin-chan, are you really leaving?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I'll see you all later," he said bluntly as he made his way to the door. He gave a quick wave goodbye shortly before exiting the shop.
Once he was out on the street, he quietly made his way to the stairs that would lead to his house. As he climbed them, he couldn't help but start thinking back on everything the group had told him that evening.
"Those idiots," he mumbled out of irritation. "Why do they have to interfere in everything?"
Once Gintoki was inside his house, he made his way to the living room and silently lay down on the couch. For some reason, the conversation that he had just had downstairs was still ringing in his ears.
So Gran sees Tsukuyo and me getting married and having kids, huh? He paused for a moment and tried to picture the image in his mind. For some reason, what he ended up thinking of was Tsukuyo and himself living in the Odd Jobs building with children-sized versions of Shinpachi and Kagura. The thought immediately struck him as weird so he quickly stopped picturing it. The image just didn't seem normal and it made him feel uncomfortable.
Gintoki then decided to get his mind off of the subject by thinking about something else. Before long, he remembered that he was now responsible for getting Tsukuyo a gift for Valentines Day.
That's right, I need to think of something good or everyone else is going to be pissed with me. Let's see, what did Gran say again? Something about getting her a gift that shows how much I care about her?
Gintoki paused for a moment. How much do I care about her?
He immediately started looking for an answer. Hmm, I love her, that's for sure. But how much? And what kind of gift can express it? This is harder than it looks.
Gintoki put a hand on his head as he started thinking about what kind of gift he could give Tsukuyo to make her happy. He began considering several ideas, but he ended up feeling uncertain about all of them. He just couldn't come up with anything that seemed satisfactory.
After a while, he simply stopped thinking about gifts and started thinking about Tsukuyo instead. He began to wonder what she might be up to at that current moment. As he continued thinking about Tsukuyo, the recent conversation downstairs started to creep in to his mind. Before long, he couldn't help but once again picture the two of them being married, which only managed to frustrate him.
"Damn it!" he suddenly shouted as he sat up. "Why the hell do I keep picturing us getting married and having kids, huh? This is all your fault, you stupid old hag!"
Gintoki immediately paused as an idea for his gift came into his head.
Maybe…he thought.
After considering it for a while, he decided to dismiss the entire idea of it.
No, we're not ready for that…are we?
And with that, Gintoki once again began to struggle as he tried to think of the perfect gift for Tsukuyo…
Well, that was Chapter 2! I don't know why, but I had an awful case of writer's block while working on this chapter -.-' I was drawing blanks after every line and I could hardly think of what to write next. In the end, I basically had to force myself to write something down in order to keep moving. It was kind of stressful. Hopefully the writing will come easier for future chapters!
It also didn't really help that I didn't have a lot of content to put into this chapter. I really just wanted a scene with Gintoki and the others talking at the bar and this is what I ended up with. That's basically the reason why this chapter is kind of short, so please forgive me!
On a different note, I would like to say thank you for all of the comments left on the first chapter. They were all very positive and encouraging, so thank you!
Anyways, in the next chapter, the story will actually be moving forward, so look forward to that XD Please feel free to let me know what you thought about this chapter! See you all later!