Silver Moon – Book 2 Chapter 13
Evening had fallen, and the sky still remained as dark and cloudy as it had been throughout the day. The entire city of Yoshiwara was now brightly lit as if night had already arrived. Within the city, four people were currently hiding in the darkness of an empty street. They were all gazing up at the nearby palace without saying a word.
After a while, Kagura spoke up. "So what's the plan?"
"Well," said Tsukuyo, turning to face the others, "basically, we need to get in there, find Gintoki, grab him, and get out."
"That sounds simple enough," said Shinpachi.
"Let's start with getting in," said Katsura quietly. "Kamui's guards are very alert. We will probably have a hard time sneaking in without them noticing us."
"Let's just go in the front door," suggested Kagura.
"What?" shouted Shinpachi. "We can't do that! They'll immediately catch us as soon as we walk in!"
"I think it's safe to say that they'll notice us if we do something like that," said Katsura, trying to patiently explain the problem to the young girl.
"Not if they're distracted," replied Kagura.
"What do you mean?" asked Tsukuyo, wondering what the girl had in mind.
"If one of us goes in there and causes a big commotion, they probably won't notice if somebody else sneaks in after that."
Everyone's eyes went wide when they heard this plan. Kagura was apparently smarter then she looked.
"That's…not bad, actually," said Shinpachi.
"I see," said Katsura. "So you're suggesting a two group plan? One group will get the guards' attention while the other group sneaks off to find Gintoki?"
"Yep," Kagura replied modestly.
"I like it," said Tsukuyo with a smile. "I think that approach will work well."
"Let's go with it then," decided Katsura. "But first, we need to figure out which of us will be doing what. For starters, do any of you know your way around the palace?"
Shinpachi and Kagura shook their heads, while Tsukuyo gave a small nod.
"I used to work in and around the palace, so I know it pretty well for the most part. I shouldn't have any trouble navigating around once we're inside."
"Excellent," said Katsura, looking pleased. "In that case, we'll put you in charge of the group that looks for Gintoki. After all, you'll be our best shot at finding him once we're in there."
Tsukuyo simply nodded in agreement. She then gave a small smile, secretly acknowledging that she was happy that she had been chosen to go looking for Gintoki. Even though she didn't show it, she was actually desperately hoping to meet up with him again. There were some things that they needed to discuss once everything was taken care of…
"In that case," said Kagura, lifting up her umbrella, "I'll be the distraction."
Katsura glanced at her. "Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it's what I'm best at," said Kagura casually. "I'm pretty good at making some noise when I need to. I'll definitely make sure that everyone's attention is on me."
"Very well then," agreed Katsura. "You can be the distraction, Leader."
"I'm going with her," said Shinpachi sternly.
"Wait, what?" asked Kagura out of surprise.
"I'll be the distraction with you," he repeated.
"No way!" Kagura suddenly yelled. "You'll just get in the way and slow me down! I'll just go alone, okay?"
"But you can't just go alone!" Shinpachi replied. "It's too dangerous and risky! It's better if you have someone go with you, just to look out for you-"
"No! I'll be fine by myself! I can-"
"Kagura, that's enough," said Tsukuyo in a serious tone. "Shinpachi is right; being the distraction will be dangerous. I think it will be for the best if you take some help."
"You can watch each other's backs," added Katsura. "If worse comes to worse, you'll at least have someone there to help you."
"Please Kagura-chan," Shinpachi begged. "I won't be a burden. I promise."
Kagura glared at him for a second before looking away. "Fine," she agreed. "But know this, if something bad happens to you in there, I'm going to kick your ass. You got that?"
Shinpachi could only smile back at her. "Got it."
"I guess that leaves you and me then," said Katsura, turning to Tsukuyo. "We'll be the ones going after Gintoki."
"Sounds good," said Tsukuyo with a nod. She was glad that she would be having someone as capable as Katsura going along with her. It would definitely make things a lot easier.
"So it's all settled then," said Katsura, turning to each of them. "Leader and Shinpachi will go in first and run around while causing an uproar. After that, Tsukuyo and I will sneak in and start looking for our silver-haired friend. Once we have him, we'll all get out as quickly as possible."
"Listen everyone," said Tsukuyo, grabbing their attention. "It's going to be dangerous once we're inside, so be careful, alright? Let's make a promise that whatever happens, we'll all come out of this alive. I don't want anyone losing their lives over something like this. That's not what Gintoki would want…"
Before long, Katsura also spoke up. "While we're at it, I think we should also promise to stay away from Kamui once we're inside. He's too dangerous, and I don't trust him. You never know what he might pull after we've infiltrated his home. We should only focus on finding Gintoki. Do you all agree?"
The group was silent for a while, before they each gave a small nod. "It's a promise," said all of them at once. The men grabbed their swords; Kagura grabbed her umbrella.
"Alright then, 'Team Go Save Our Idiot', let's move out," said Tsukuyo, leading the way to the palace. "And remember, no matter what happens, try to avoid Kamui, and come out alive…"
Shinpachi and Kagura casually walked up to the front door of the palace. It was currently unguarded, so the two of them wouldn't have to worry about doing any fighting yet. Apparently, they could just walk in at their leisure.
Once they were in front of the door, Shinpachi gently grabbed Kagura by the arm. "Hey, Kagura-chan," he quietly called to her.
"What's up?" she asked, turning to face him.
"Before we go in there, I need to tell you something. It's about your brother."
Kagura's expression soured. "Yeah?"
Shinpachi gave a small sigh. "Look, I know that we all made a promise back there not to go after him, but I need to make sure that you're on board with that. I know that you hold some sort of grudge against him, but you just can't go after him on your own. It's way too risky. Do you understand?"
Now it was Kagura's turn to give a sigh. "Yes, I already knew all that. I know that our goal is to go after Gin-chan, not my stupid brother. I may want to kick his ass and all that, but I won't do anything that you guys don't want me to. Besides, I made a promise, didn't I?"
Shinpachi just gave a small smile. "Yes, you did. I was just making sure that you wouldn't do anything reckless."
"Don't waste your time," said Kagura in a cool voice. "I'm always reckless."
"That's all too true," said Shinpachi as he shook his head. "Well then, I suppose we should go ahead and get in there. Do you think that the door is locked?"
"Does it matter?" replied Kagura as she started pulling back one of her legs.
"No, I suppose not. Go ahead then."
With one swift movement, Kagura landed a powerful kick on the front door. The force of the impact immediately shattered the door into several large pieces of splintered wood. The pieces were soon scattered across the floor of the main hall. Several guards that could be seen standing within the room all looked to the entrance out of surprise.
"WE'RE HERE!" Kagura screamed at the top of her lungs. She lifted her umbrella up so that it came to rest on her shoulder.
"We should really get a move on. They'll be on top of us any second now," said Shinpachi, looking around cautiously.
"Intruders!" cried one of the guards. "Quickly, capture them!"
The rest of the guards immediately sprang to action. They all pounced for the duo standing in the doorway, but they were quickly defeated. Kagura had knocked them all aside with just a few swipes of her umbrella.
"Let's go, Shinpachi!" she cried as she ran into the palace.
"Right!" he yelled as he followed behind.
"Hey! Where are they going?" yelled one of the guards.
"Don't let them escape!" yelled another. "We can't have them running around in here while the captain's fight is taking place!"
Kagura and Shinpachi were soon climbing the stairs in the middle of the room. Kagura was easily clearing a path through the men while they desperately tried to stop her. One of them came at her with a strong punch, but she swiftly dodged, right before giving him a sharp kick over the railing.
"Is that the best you've got!?" she taunted as she sent body after body flying. She almost seemed like she was enjoying herself.
Then, something unexpected happened. It seemed like the guards were starting to grow wise. One of them jumped straight from the first floor and over the railing, flying directly at Kagura from her left side with his hands ready to claw her open. She had not been expecting them to attack from the sides, but she still managed to notice the attack and block it with her umbrella before it was too late. However, at that same instant, another guard pounced over the other side of the stairs, flying straight at Kagura with a clenched fist. This time, she was barely able to notice him before she caught the punch with her free hand and lifted one leg up to his torso in order to keep him at a distance.
At that moment, Kagura realized what an awful position she was in. She was standing on one leg while fending off attacks from both sides with no arms free to defend herself. She was completely open. One of the guards from below immediately noticed this and took his opportunity to strike. He flew over the stairs with one great leap, coming at Kagura from behind. She turned her head back just in time to see the excited smile on the Yato's face.
Shit! This is it!
But it wasn't. At the last second, Shinpachi jumped in from the side and slashed the man across the stomach. He instantly fell to the floor with a shocked look on his face. It seemed that with all of the chaos that Kagura had been causing, nobody had paid any heed to the scrawny glasses-wearing boy behind her.
Shinpachi quickly turned to Kagura and gave her a cocky smile which said, 'See? I'm not as useless as you thought.'
Kagura just returned the smile as she came up with a plan to free herself. Without a second thought, she withdrew her umbrella from the man on her left and planted its front next to her leg on the other one's torso. Using the strength of both arms and her right leg, she forced the attacker to the ground, planting his body firmly underneath her foot. She then quickly shifted all of her weight onto that leg, leaving her left one free. She swiftly retracted it before fully extending it right into the gut of the other assaulter. He soon fell to the floor without a sound.
"All too easy," said Kagura, triumphantly standing over them.
"Good job, let's keep moving!" Shinpachi shouted, as he ran up the stairs.
"Right," she replied, focusing once again.
"After them!" the guards continued to shout. "Don't let them escape!"
Meanwhile, Tsukuyo and Katsura darted through the front door and quickly slid off to the side. Tsukuyo was soon leading the way down a hall while Katsura made sure that they weren't being followed.
"Heh, those kids are better than we thought," he said with a grin. "Not a single guard noticed us slip in."
"They're good at getting people's attention alright," Tsukuyo agreed. "Let's just hope that they stay safe."
"They'll be fine as long as they have each other. We should just focus on finding Gintoki so we can hurry up and get out of here."
"Right," said Tsukuyo with a nod. She quietly went back to concentrating on the mission at hand.
Gintoki…we're coming…
Gintoki awoke with a start. He looked from side to side to find that he was still in the same room where he had fallen asleep a few hours before. He quietly stood up and started stretching when a curious noise caught his attention. It sounded like a stampede, and it was coming from the hallway.
Becoming alert, Gintoki grabbed his sword and approached the door. He slowly slid it open and poked his head out to see what all the commotion was about. He was surprised to find that there were several guards running past him. They were all sprinting down the hallway like they were in some kind of big hurry.
What the hell is going on? he thought as he watched the scene before him. Where are all the guards running off to? What could have them all so worked up?
As Gintoki continued watching, he suddenly noticed Abuto barreling down the hallway after the others. He quickly stepped out into the hall and caught his attention. "Hey, you!" he yelled.
Abuto stopped right in front of the samurai. "Huh? What is it?" he asked in an annoyed tone.
"You're Kamui's assistant, right? Tell me what the hell is going on. Why are you all running down the hallway in such a frenzy?"
"Well, first off, I'm not his assistant," said Abuto with a glare. "That was just a disguise, and a rather humiliating one at that. As for your question, it would appear that we have some intruders within the palace."
Gintoki froze. "I-Intruders?" he stuttered.
"Yes, apparently, they just broke in through the front door and now they're running amuck throughout the palace."
"Seriously?" asked Gintoki, slowly becoming concerned.
"Yes, but don't worry, we're taking care of it," said Abuto reassuringly. "We're sending all of our guards after them right now. We'll manage to capture them eventually."
Gintoki looked to the floor. "I see."
"As for you," said Abuto, talking in a strict tone, "you are to remain here until the intruders are taken care of. You are completely forbidden to go after them, because, you see, the intruders could be rather dangerous. If you ended up getting injured by them, it could interfere in your fight with the captain. We must do our best to ensure that you stay in top shape. Got it?"
Gintoki paused before he answered. "I understand," he said.
"Good," said Abuto, looking pleased with his answer. "I'm heading off now. You just stay here and wait until it's time for your fight. After all, we don't want to disappoint the captain now do we? If we did, he might just lose his temper and end up killing us all."
Gintoki looked sickened upon hearing this, but Abuto just gave a laugh like the whole thing was a joke. He then ran off without another word, leaving the samurai alone.
Gintoki just stared at the floor as he thought about everything that the man had told him. Intruders huh? Who would invade the palace at a time like this? It couldn't be them…could it? Would those idiots really come looking for me if they knew the truth?
Gintoki then glanced down the hall. Shit, if it really is them, then my deal with Kamui might get screwed up! Grrr, I know I'm supposed to stay here, but I can't just do that when I know that there's a possibility that the others are looking for me!
Gintoki then started running in the opposite direction of the guards. I need to find out if it's really them. And if it is, I need to know if our deal still holds up.
I need to talk to Kamui…
Shinpachi and Kagura were sprinting down the halls as fast as they could. The Yato guards that they had met at the front door were still chasing after them, only a few steps behind. The two kids had no idea where they were going, but it didn't really matter. All they had to do was keep the guards' attention while Tsukuyo and Katsura went looking for Gintoki.
"This is going smoothly!" Shinpachi shouted between breaths.
"Yeah, it looks like they're desperate to catch us!" Kagura shouted back.
"Ha," Shinpachi laughed as they turned a corner. "Well then, let's not give them the satisfaction-"
His voice dropped off as the two of them came to a halt in the middle of the new hallway. Standing at the end of it, faces grinning, was a large group of Yato guards.
"Shit!" Kagura yelled. "We have to turn back-"
But it was too late; the group that had been chasing behind them now blocked the other end of the hall. Shinpachi and Kagura were officially trapped. Their only available exits were completely filled with Yato. It appeared that escape was no longer an option.
Shinpachi lifted his sword warily at the group behind them. "Kagura-chan, what do we do?" he asked desperately.
"Hmph," she mumbled, raising her umbrella. "Looks like we've got no choice. We're just going to have to fight our way out."
"Wait, seriously?" asked Shinpachi as he carefully watched the group for any sign of danger.
Kagura retraced her steps until her back was touching his. "It's the only way," she said calmly. "Listen, you watch my back and I'll watch yours. We'll get through this."
Shinpachi felt an overwhelming sense of doubt welling up inside of him. "Um, Kagura-chan?" he asked quietly. "I'm not sure I can take an entire group of Yato by myself…"
In response, Kagura just spat off to the side. "Seriously? What about all that crap you were spouting earlier about not being a burden? You better not have been lying to me, because if you were, I'm going to have to kick your ass. You got that?"
"I'm not exactly sure I'll have an ass left after this…" Shinpachi muttered with a small tremble.
Kagura just gave a sigh. "Ugh, fine, I'll help you out if you're in trouble, okay?"
"Please do," he begged.
Meanwhile, the Yato guards had been having a private conversation of their own.
"We've finally cornered them. Now what do we do?"
"Should we kill them?"
"No, we should probably just detain them. I'd bet the captain might want to question them."
"In that case, try to capture them…but if you accidently happen to kill them, oh well…"
The guards all gave a big laugh at this. Kagura and Shinpachi immediately took their stances in defense. The hallway went completely silent for a moment, and then it started.
Three of the guards on Shinpachi's side leapt towards him as he instinctively positioned his sword horizontally. With his other arm, he supported the back of the blade and was able to block all three blows aimed at him. However, the force of the attacks had been too much for him, and he had been pushed up tightly against Kagura. Her body had actually been the only thing keeping him from flying down the hall.
As the guards retracted their fists, Shinpachi quickly flipped the end of the blade to the other side and grabbed the hilt with both hands. He then put all of his strength into a horizontal slice. Two of the guards evaded while the last one received a cut across his chest. The remaining two did not hesitate to come at him again as more guards advanced from down the hall.
Meanwhile, Kagura was having an intense fight of her own. She had been firing several rounds of bullets out of her umbrella as the guards ran at her. Many of them fell, but many of them also dodged. Eventually one of them drew near enough to grab the end of Kagura's umbrella. He forced its aim off to the side while another Yato made his move. She managed to easily kick him away as she gave a violent jerk of her umbrella arm. The Yato that held onto it firmly grasped it with two hands in an effort to keep it still.
But Kagura would not have it. She continued to shake the umbrella back and forth as guard after guard rushed at her. She managed to defend herself with her free arm and legs, but she was starting to grow frustrated.
"DAMN IT, GET OFF!" she screamed as the Yato clung to the umbrella for dear life. His feet were now off the ground and Kagura was wildly waving the weapon back and forth.
On the other side, Shinpachi was struggling. He had strategically managed to defeat the other two guards from before, but five more had come to take their place. The boy was soon being surrounded from all sides. He could hardly keep up his defense any longer.
Out of desperation, he cried out. "Kagura-chan! Help!"
Her response came quickly. "Shinpachi, DUCK!"
He didn't need to be told twice. He immediately crouched down into a ball on the floor. In the next instant, Kagura grabbed her umbrella with both hands, and gave a massive circular swing. The Yato that had been clinging on had released his grasp as he was slammed into at least ten other men that had been surrounding the duo. Every guard that had been hit was soon resting on the floor.
Shinpachi, seeing the surprised look on the other guards' faces, took his opportunity to strike. He got to his feet, took a confident step forward, and swung his sword in a huge arc. Four of the guards fell to his attack.
Meanwhile, Kagura's side was quickly thinning out as she knocked each guard aside with ease. With every swing of her umbrella, at least one to two of her enemies joined those on the floor. After a while, only five guards were left remaining on Kagura's side, and they were completely spread out…
"Shinpachi!" Kagura called out. "I'm going to finish this side off! Can you hold your own for a second?"
"Just leave it to me!" he yelled confidently as he sliced another guard in front of him.
"Right, here goes." Kagura ran at a full sprint and smashed the first guard into the wall with her umbrella. She kicked the second one into the opposite wall. She then jumped over the third one as she knocked him to the floor with her fist. Upon landing, she rolled to the fourth one where she swept his legs out from underneath him. She managed to grab his flailing body with one hand before hurling him at the final guard. The fifth guard knocked the body aside only to find Kagura charging from right behind it. With one final punch she sent him flying all the way to the end of the hall with a loud crash.
"Finished," she whispered triumphantly. She then turned around to check on her friend. She did not like what she saw.
There must have been at least twenty guards left on his side, and the ones that stood at the front were once again surrounding Shinpachi. He was barely able to dodge the attacks that were coming at him before even more attacks followed. He looked like he was in a desperate situation.
"Ah! Shinpachi!" Kagura screamed as she bolted for him. Shit! I left him alone for too long!
One of the guards knocked Shinpachi's sword to the side as another one pulled back his fist.
"NO!" Kagura shrieked. She was running as fast as she could.
The guard punched Shinpachi right in the stomach. He instantly coughed up blood.
"SHINPACHI!"
Kagura arrived on the scene and broke the guard's arm in a fraction of a second. She then kicked the other one's head straight into a wall, where it became stuck.
"K-Kagura-chan," Shinpachi coughed.
"Just get out of here!" she shouted at him. "I'll handle the rest myself!"
Shinpachi grabbed his sword and managed to stand up. "W-Wait, what are you doing?"
"Just go!" Without a second thought, Kagura jumped into the middle of the remaining guards.
"Kagura-chan!" Shinpachi screamed out of worry. He could no longer see what was happening, but he heard a lot of punching and grunting, until eventually, he heard a loud scream.
"I've got her!" one of the guards bellowed. "She's pinned to the ground!"
"Forget capturing her!" yelled another. "She's too dangerous! Just finish her off!"
"You don't have to tell me twice," replied the first guard, sounding eager.
"Kagura-chan!" Shinpachi screamed as he recklessly charged the group before him. He was swinging his sword wildly, doing his best to hit everything in front of him. Blood was flying everywhere.
At that point, Kagura managed to wrestle the Yato guard off of her while Shinpachi's surprise attack distracted him. She grabbed her umbrella and also started swinging wildly.
"Shinpachi!" she called out to him. "Don't stop! Don't stop until they're all down!"
"I won't!" he replied with clenched teeth.
Guard after guard fell before the two of them as they just kept on swinging and swinging and swinging…
Shinpachi and Kagura were both crouching down, panting heavily. The hallway was scattered with what must have been at least fifty Yato guards. As for the two of them, they had some minor bruises here and there, but they were mostly fine.
"We finally did it," Shinpachi mumbled as he put a hand to his stomach. That spot was still aching from the punch he had taken earlier.
"Are you alright?" asked Kagura between breaths. "I saw you coughing up blood…"
"Yeah, it's nothing too bad," he replied. "What about you?"
"I'm fine," said Kagura, standing up straight and looking around. "It looks like we took care of just about every guard this place had to offer."
Shinpachi was quiet for a moment before he looked up at her. "Hey, Kagura-chan, I'm sorry. It looks like I just ended up being a burden to you after all."
Kagura just stared at him for a second before sighing. "Aw, don't worry about it, the important thing is that we're both still alive. Just don't let something like this ever happen again."
She soon started walking away before adding one last comment.
"Otherwise, I'm going to have to kick your ass. You got that?"
Shinpachi could only smile as he started following after her. "Got it."
Damn, I'm happy with how this chapter turned out. The story made some good progress, and the action ended up being…better than I expected XD I liked what I came up with. Of course, you guys will have to tell me what you thought about it. After all, my opinion doesn't always matter when it comes to this stuff XD
It seems like this chapter ended up focusing a lot on Shinpachi and Kagura. Weird, considering this is mainly a Gintsu story. Oh well, I gave their characters some shine. Everyone needs a good dusting off every once in a while, don't you think? I want to give more characters some shine moving forward. I'll see what I can do in future books.
By the way, I fear that I might have ended up making it look like I was shipping Shinpachi x Kagura…which was actually not my intention XD I suppose I should make this clear, they're just friends in my story. Just friends. I have no desire to put them together. Not that they can't be together, I just always saw them as having a brother/sister kind of relationship. The Yorozuya is like a family, after all.
Anyways, those are just my thoughts on the chapter XD Let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review! I'd really appreciate it! In the next chapter, I'll be focusing more on Tsukuyo and Katsura! Please look forward to it! See you all then!