Silver Moon – Book 2 Chapter 7

Gintoki silently stood at an empty street corner within Yoshiwara. He simply stared up at the nearby palace, not making a sound. It was clear that he was deep in thought.

If I want to find out more about Kami, I'm going to have to go in there and take a look around. I'm sure I'll be able to find some kind of information about him in there. At the very least, I hope I can learn something about why he seems so familiar to me.

Gintoki paused as he continued staring at the palace. Now here's the question, how the hell do I get inside? I doubt the guards will let me in. After all, I'm trying to investigate their overlord. Making an appearance now would simply be too suspicious on my part.

In that case…I'm just going to have to sneak inside and see what I can learn about Kami without letting anyone else find me. That's the only way I'll be able to investigate this guy. I'm going to have to be crafty on this one…

Upon making his decision, Gintoki immediately started approaching the palace that stood right in front of him. He quietly advanced through the shadows of the night, doing his best not to be seen. As he started to near the palace, he diverted his path so that he was now heading for a line of bushes that sat a short ways away from the building. The bushes actually surrounded the palace and were mostly there to help improve the building's outside image.

That would be the perfect place to hide right now thought Gintoki as he neared the bushes. They're large enough for me to hide behind and I could probably even hide inside of them if I wanted to. They are also close enough to the palace for me to use them as an observation point while still being far enough away to avoid detection. Plus, the darkness brought on by the night will also help me stay hidden. I just need to stay out of the light coming from the palace.

Gintoki soon secured a place behind one of the shrubs. He sat there for a moment as he caught his breath. He then looked around to make sure that no one had seen him.

Once he was satisfied, he quietly took a peek around the hedge. In the light of the palace, he was able to see quite a few guards standing on duty both inside and outside the building.

Hmm…I'm going to have to be careful about this…

Gintoki suddenly heard a noise come from somewhere nearby. He immediately froze as his ears perked up. He soon heard the noise again. It sounded like one of the bushes was being rustled by something.

Gintoki crouched down as he looked from side to side. Is someone else here too? he wondered. Is someone else hiding in the bushes? Or have the guards already found me and now they're sneaking up on me?

Gintoki paused as he heard the rustling once more. Either way, whatever is making that noise is definitely close to me…I need to find out exactly where it's coming from…

Gintoki quietly started sneaking off in the direction of the noise while still staying low. He was going to try and find whatever was making that noise before it found him.

Eventually, Gintoki was able to make out a bush that had two shadows crouching behind it. He soon crouched down himself as he attempted to observe the two of them. He was able to notice that one of the shadows was quite larger than the other and that they were both quietly watching the palace. The bush in front of them softly rustled each time they moved its branches in order to see around it. Gintoki also noticed that while he was easily able to observe them, their position would be completely hidden to those within the palace.

I don't understand. Someone else is sneaking around the palace too? Why? Who are they?

Gintoki suddenly paused as he realized something. Maybe they know something about Kami…this could be a golden opportunity…

Gintoki quickly decided on his next course of action. I should sneak up on them and quietly give them a surprise attack. I'll just hold them down and then politely ask them for everything they know about Kami. Hopefully they'll have some helpful information for me. After that, I'll let them be on their way, no harm done.

Gintoki immediately went to work without another thought. He started slowly approaching the two shadows from behind without letting them know of his presence. Pfft he thought. These guys can't even hear me approaching over the sound of their stupid bush rustling. They must be real amateurs.

Gintoki stopped once he was right behind them. Once he was sure that they were still oblivious to his company, he swiftly grabbed the both of them from the back. He then used all of his strength to quickly lift them off the ground and force them back down. Surprisingly, they both stayed silent as they landed on their stomachs.

Gintoki stood overtop of them as he held each shadow to the ground with one arm. "All right," he whispered quietly, "be still and be silent. I have a couple of questions I want to ask the two of you."

To Gintoki's surprise, the smaller shadow slowly turned his head towards him. He then stared at him for a second before quietly speaking up. "Gintoki?" he asked. "Is…is that you?"

Gintoki's eyes widened as he suddenly recognized the two shadows he was holding down with his hands. "What the hell?" he almost yelled. "Zura!?"

"It's not Zura, it's Katsura," replied the smaller shadow.

Upon closer inspection, Gintoki discovered that the shadow was indeed his old friend, Katsura. He then turned towards the larger shadow, which he was still holding to the ground. "So if this is Zura, then the other one must be…"

"It's Elizabeth," said Katsura.

Upon hearing this, Gintoki immediately recognized the strange bird-like creature. The darkness had managed to hide him well, but when Gintoki looked close, he realized that the larger shadow truly was Elizabeth.

As he lay on the ground, Elizabeth also turned his head to face Gintoki before lifting up a sign. 'Hello,' it said.

Gintoki could hardly believe what he was seeing. "I don't understand," he said, looking back and forth between the both of them. "What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"We'll tell you all that in just a second," said Katsura, looking up at the samurai. "But could you let us go first?"

"Oh, right," said Gintoki, releasing his grip on the both of them.

Katsura and Elizabeth slowly rose to their feet. They then started brushing themselves off as they glared at the silver-haired samurai.

"Before we answer any questions, would you care to tell us what that attack was all about?" asked Katsura with a frown.

"Sorry about that," said Gintoki, staring at the rebel. "I kind of attacked without thinking. In all of this darkness, I didn't realize that it was actually Zura and the bird sitting right in front of me."

"It's not Zura, it's Katsura," he repeated, rubbing the back of his neck. "And did you have to be so rough on us?"

"Oh, come on," said Gintoki. "It couldn't have been that bad. You look like you're still in one piece."

"It's not One Piece, it's Gintama," said Katsura with a straight face.

"If you feel good enough to make stupid jokes like that, then you must be fine," said Gintoki, clearly not amused. "Besides, you've been through worse than that before."

"Even so," said Katsura, "how the hell did you not recognize us? I mean, how clueless do you have to be? You should have easily been able to spot Elizabeth!"

"Hey, it was dark and I acted rashly! Give me a break!" Gintoki shouted.

Katsura turned away from the man as he crossed his arms. "Hmph, it figures you would do something reckless like that. You would make a poor spy with that mindset."

Gintoki clenched his fists as he started getting angry. "Well at least I didn't make a bunch of noise by rustling around in the bushes! Honestly, I could hear you from a mile away! If anyone here is a poor spy, it's you!"

"Don't start lecturing me on the ways of espionage!"

"I'll do whatever the hell I want!"

Suddenly, Elizabeth jumped in between the two of them and gave them each a light wack on the head. He then pulled out a sigh which read, 'Shut up before the guards hear you two shouting!'

Katsura stared at the sign as he put a hand to his new bruise. "You're right, we need to stay quiet," he whispered.

"I already knew that!" Gintoki whispered back. He then took a deep breath in order to calm down. "Now tell me, what the hell are you guys doing here in Yoshiwara?"

Katsura simply crossed his arms as he closed his eyes. "Well, you've probably already guessed it, but Elizabeth and I are here on surveillance duty."

Gintoki gave him a look of curiosity. "What for?"

Katsura opened his eyes and stared straight at Gintoki. "It's about that new overlord that arrived here a few weeks ago, the one who calls himself 'Kami'."

"You're spying on Kami?" asked Gintoki, listening carefully.

"Exactly. Normally, I don't bother dealing in the matters of Yoshiwara, but things are different this time. We've received some suspicious information about that overlord that concerns us. It might even concern you too."

Gintoki started to look worried. He didn't like what he was hearing. "What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

"A few weeks ago, this Kami guy arrived here on Earth by traveling on a private spaceship. Apparently, he had been living out in space before he decided to come be Yoshiwara's new overlord. Later on, some of my scouts decided to take the opportunity to observe his ship…"

Gintoki stared at Katsura, waiting for him to continue. "And…?" he asked.

Katsura closed his eyes for a moment before staring back at Gintoki. "They discovered something rather alarming about that spaceship. Apparently, the ship that Kami arrived here on belongs to the Kiheitai."

Gintoki's mouth fell open out of surprise. "The Kiheitai?" he repeated. "You mean Takasugi's extremist group?"

"The very same," replied Katsura, looking serious. "My scouts were able to confirm that the ship does indeed belong to their group. From this information, I can only decipher one thing about this new overlord: he has ties with them."

Gintoki just stayed silent as he tried to take everything in. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"My group has been suspicious of him ever since," said Katsura, looking up at the palace. "We decided that we need to keep an eye on him and see what we can learn. Elizabeth and I came here tonight to do just that."

Gintoki put his hands to his head as he stared at the ground. He was starting to look worried about the whole situation. "This can't be good," he said quietly.

Katsura gave the man a look of confusion. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"It's not just you. The truth is…I've been suspicious of him too."

"You have?" asked Katsura.

"Yes. He seems really nice on the outside, but I can't help but feel like he's hiding something on the inside. And after hearing everything you just said, it kind of makes sense."

"Wait, you've actually met the overlord before?" asked Katsura, looking surprised.

"Yeah, Tsukuyo introduced us," Gintoki explained as he looked up. "She really seems to like the guy, but I just have a bad feeling about him."

"I see," said Katsura, quietly staring at the palace. "Well, if he really is working with the Kiheitai, then all of your suspicions are justified. Anyone who associates with that dangerous group is usually dangerous themselves."

Katsura then turned back to Gintoki with a look of curiosity. "By the way," he said, "you never did tell us why you were here in Yoshiwara."

"Huh?" said Gintoki, looking confused. "I'm here for the same reason as you. I came to spy on the overlord."

"Oh really?" asked Katsura, a smile coming to his face. "Was that the only reason you came to Yoshiwara? Are you sure you didn't come to see Tsukuyo while you were here?"

Gintoki paused as he felt himself lightly blushing. "So what if I did?" he asked defensively.

"Aw, now that's sweet," said Katsura, starting to taunt Gintoki with his smile. "It's nice to see you want to spend time with your girlfriend."

Gintoki simply looked at him out of annoyance. "Are…are you making fun of me?" he asked.

"Of course not," said Katsura, trying to hold back his laughter. "You're just so cute when you're in love."

"Oh, shut the hell up!" said Gintoki, getting upset. "It's not like I'm the only one who's guilty here! I've heard that you've been hanging around Ikumatsu's place a lot lately!"

Upon hearing this, Katsura suddenly froze. "I…I don't know what you're talking about," he said quietly.

"Don't lie! You've been going to see her more often because you like her, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he repeated.

"I'm right, aren't I? You're in love too!"

Elizabeth suddenly stepped in between the two samurai again in order to stop their arguing. He then held up a sign which read, 'Alright, that's enough. Let's get back to business already.'

Katsura looked at the sign before clearing his throat. "Er, right, let's shift our attention back to the overlord."

"Fine," said Gintoki, staring up at the palace again. "I was actually planning on sneaking in there and seeing what I could find out. What do you think?"

"Hmm," mumbled Katsura as he considered the option. He then gave a sigh before also staring at the palace. "I guess we might as well. We'll definitely learn a lot more in there then we will out here."

Gintoki turned back to face him. "So you're with me then?"

"Yes, let's go in," he replied.

"Great," said Gintoki, happy that he would have some allies coming with him. "So what's the plan?"

"I guess we'll try and sneak in when the guards aren't looking. After that, we'll do a light search throughout the palace to see what we can find. If possible, I think the best place to check would be the overlord's bedroom."

"Sounds good," said Gintoki, giving a nod.

"Also, we shouldn't stay too long; we don't want to risk being caught."

"Let's try and be out within an hour. That should be plenty of time."

"Agreed."

"Alright then," said Gintoki, looking determined. "Let's go in and see what we can find."

"Hold on, Gintoki," said Katsura, putting a hand on the samurai's shoulder. "Where is your weapon?"

Gintoki silently stared at him before looking down at his waist. The wooden sword that he usually carried with him was not there. "I didn't bring it to Yoshiwara with me," he answered. "I didn't think I would need it tonight."

In response, Katsura just put a hand to his face. "It figures you would be so unprepared for this mission. Well, we can't just let you go in there defenseless. Elizabeth, give him a sword."

Gintoki turned to see the large bird face the sky as he opened his mouth. He then reached an arm down into his throat before slowly pulling something out. He then held the weapon out for Gintoki to take.

Gintoki simply stared at it for a moment before grabbing it. It was a real metal sword, quietly resting in its black sheath. The hilt of the sword was also black and had a tiny diamond-shaped pattern going across it. Gintoki partially drew the sword out of its sheath in order to admire it. He soon found his own reflection staring back from the blade.

He then looked over to Katsura. "Do I really need this?" he asked.

"If things go bad, you're going to need to defend yourself. Trust me, you're going to feel better having that sword at your side."

Gintoki stared at his own reflection once more. "Hmph, if you say so…"

A short while later, Gintoki, Katsura, and Elizabeth had all safely made it into the palace. They were currently crouching down in an empty room on the second floor. They had just managed to enter in through an open window without attracting the guards' attention.

Katsura quietly turned to face Gintoki. "I don't suppose you know where his bedroom is, do you?" he whispered.

In response, Gintoki just shook his head. "I've only been in here a couple of times; I'm not really that familiar with the place."

"Well, I can't really blame you. This palace is rather large."

"So what's the plan then?"

"We're just going to have to take a look around and see what we can find. If we're lucky, we'll stumble across his room by chance."

"Fine," said Gintoki, slowly standing up.

Katsura also stood up and walked over to the door. He slowly cracked it open and took a peak outside before shutting it again. "The hall is empty," he said, looking back at his two comrades. "Alright, let's be quick and be silent. Stick together. And if somebody happens to find us, get out."

Katsura then put a hand on the sword at his waist. "Are we ready?" he asked.

'Ready!' said Elizabeth.

Gintoki also laid a hand on his own sword before looking up. "Let's go," he said.

"Alright," said Katsura, cracking open the door again. "Follow me, and stay safe."

Katsura then opened the door up all the way before quickly moving into the hall. Gintoki and Elizabeth silently followed behind him. Once they arrived at the end of the hall, Katsura peeked around the corner to make sure it was safe. They then quietly went on their way.

From time to time, the group would stop and check some of the nearby rooms. Unfortunately, most of the rooms they looked in were either empty or used for storage. After making sure that there was nothing of importance within each room, they would then move on. This process continued as the group made their way deeper and deeper into the palace. No matter where they checked, they were still having a hard time finding anything useful in their search.

Eventually, the group came to stop in front of a fairly large door. The three of them stared at it silence for a moment.

"What do you suppose is in there?" asked Gintoki, looking curious.

"I don't know, but it might be worth checking out," said Katsura, slowly walking up and putting his ear to the door. "It sounds quiet, I think it's empty."

"Let's go in," said Gintoki, grabbing the door handle.

"Wait a minute," said Katsura suddenly. "Do you hear that?"

Gintoki paused as he listened. He could hear footsteps and voices coming from the hallway opposite to them.

Elizabeth quickly lifted up a sign. 'Someone's coming!' it said.

"Shit," said Gintoki under his breath. "We have to go!"

"Wait!" whispered Katsura, pointing to the other hall that they had just come from. "We can't go back; someone is coming from that way too!"

Sure enough, more footsteps and voices could be heard from the hallway behind them. It looked like the group was officially cornered.

"Damn it," said Gintoki, looking back at the door in front of him. "I guess we have no choice! Quickly, get in here!"

Gintoki slid the door open and all three of them jumped in without a second thought. Once they were inside, Gintoki quietly closed the door behind them. They then paused for a moment to make sure that they were safe.

After about a minute, Gintoki put his ear to the door. "I don't hear anything," he said. "I think they're gone."

He then stood up and glanced at the room in front of him. Everything was dark and it was hard to see. The only thing that he could make out was that this room was larger than the other ones he had seen before.

"Where are we, anyway?" he asked as looked through the darkness.

"I'm not sure," said Katsura, also looking around. "Let me see if I can find the lights."

He fumbled around the wall for a little bit until he found what he was looking for. He quietly flicked all of the lights on with a switch. Everything in the room instantly became visible.

The room itself was actually larger than anticipated, being about as wide as a small field. The ceiling extended high above them, surprisingly opening the room up to reveal several different floors surrounding them. Basically, each new floor consisted of an enclosing balcony that looked down on the floor below it. The levels were stacked like this all the way from the bottom floor up to the ceiling. The main floor was mostly empty, except for the room's most notable feature: a large majestic-looking statue of a rabbit.

Gintoki immediately recognized the place as he looked around. "Hey, I've been here before," he said as he walked farther into the room. "This is where I fought with Hosen."

As he continued to look around, he confirmed it was indeed the same place as before. The only difference was that all of the damage caused by that fight had apparently been repaired. The room looked practically new.

"It is a rather beautiful room," said Katsura as he walked in. "I wonder what it's used for?"

'Maybe it's some kind of recreation room,' said Elizabeth.

"Who knows?" said Gintoki, staring up at the rabbit statue.

Suddenly, Gintoki started getting a weird feeling. He immediately looked around the room. Something's wrong he thought.

"Well, well, well," said an unknown voice from across the room. "It seems we have some unexpected guests in here."

"Shit! They've found us!" Gintoki cried, turning to face his comrades. "We need to go!"

Katsura and Elizabeth quickly realized what was going on. All three of them instantly started running for the door. It was their best hope for an escape.

However, their hopes were soon dashed as the door burst open and several guards began filing into the room. The three intruders quickly stopped in their tracks.

"We need to find another way!" yelled Katsura, turning around.

Gintoki and Elizabeth also turned around; they were about to start running for another exit. However, before they could even take another step, three new guards suddenly dropped right on top of the group. Each of them swiftly grabbed one of the intruders and held them in a tight embrace. They were now caught.

Gintoki looked back at his captor as he struggled to break free. They were hiding on the ceiling!?

Gintoki kept struggling against the guard that held him, but it was no use. His arms were pinned down to his side and his feet were lifted off the ground. He desperately tried to reach for the sword at his waist, but it was just out of his grasp.

Rrrgg, I can't break free! Just how strong are these guards?

Almost as if he had heard Gintoki's thoughts, the guard responded. "Stop struggling," he commanded. "You're not getting away."

Gintoki stopped for a moment in order to take in the situation. Sure enough, any hope of escape was starting to look grim. Katsura and Elizabeth were held firmly by the other two guards in the same position that he was in. Meanwhile, the guards that had been entering from the hallway were now circling the group. Their only chance for an escape had all but disappeared.

As Gintoki watched, he silently cursed himself. They were waiting for us he realized. They knew we were here and they actually lured us into this room in order to capture us. We played right into their trap like complete fools…

"Alright, alright, that's enough," said the unknown voice from before. "You can all disperse, I'll take it from here."

As if on cue, the guards that encircled the group immediately scattered. Some of them left the room while others simply got out of the way. Unfortunately, the three guards that held the intruders stayed put.

It was then that the owner of the unknown voice appeared. He slowly walked up to his new prisoners, his green eyes glowing as a smile came to his face.

"Gintoki!" he said. "What a pleasant surprise!"

In response, Gintoki just glared at the man. "Kami…" he said quietly.

At the mention of the overlord's name, Katsura and Elizabeth stopped moving. They were now silently watching this new encounter unfold in front of them.

"I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon!" said the overlord, still smiling. "And look, you even brought some friends with you!"

Gintoki just clenched his teeth as he continued to glare. He's taunting me…

"Oh, come now, my lord," said a new voice from across the room. "Don't act so astonished. We knew that they were here the moment they entered the building."

Before long, the owner of the new voice then gave a smile as he walked over to Kami. It was revealed to be none other than the overlord's assistant, Edward.

"Still," said Kami, looking up at Gintoki, "I was rather shocked to learn that you guys came in all by yourselves." He then gave the samurai a look of curiosity. "Tell me, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Cut the crap," said Gintoki, looking angry. "I know that you're not who you appear to be. I came here to find out what you're hiding."

Kami looked a little surprised to hear this. "You mean you don't know?" he asked. "I thought you might have recognized me earlier, but I must have been wrong. Oh well, I guess I can't blame you for not figuring it out."

Gintoki clenched his teeth once more as he stared at the man. "So then we have met before? I knew you seemed familiar!"

Kami just laughed as he listened to the samurai. He then started walking towards Gintoki before stopping a short distance away.

"It's funny," he said with a smile. "Tonight, you came here looking for me, when the last time we met…"

Kami then paused as he slowly removed his glasses. He then stared at Gintoki with his bare green eyes.

"…I said I would come looking for you…"

Gintoki suddenly froze as he stared at the overlord. "I know…" he said quietly. "I know who you are!"

It had finally clicked. He now recognized the man.

"I remember you! You're…"

…!

And that's the end of the chapter! That's right, I ended it right there! I'm such an evil writer! I'll bet you guys really wanted to find out who Kami is, but too bad! You're going to have to wait! I'm such an evil asshole!

Anyways, I really do apologize for ending it on such a suspenseful note XD I hope you won't be too angry with me. Besides, I think some of you already have an idea of who Kami is anyway…

Attention! I have some news for the next chapter of this story! It's kind of important, so listen up! In the next chapter, the story will be jumping ahead. Let me repeat, in the next chapter, the story will be jumping forward in time.

What does that mean? It means I won't be picking up where I left off. The story will actually be moving ahead to the next day. That also means that you won't be finding out about Kami next chapter either (I'm so sorry!) Rest assured, there will eventually be a flashback, so you will get all of your answers in time.

But yeah, I think the next chapter will be kind of…unexpected. Please just trust me when I say that I know what I'm doing XD I'll do my best to make it good!

That's all for now! Please leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one! Goodbye!