Silver Moon – Book 2 Chapter 17

Tsukuyo stared up at Gintoki, quietly watching his reaction. He looked absolutely furious with the boy standing across the room. He had already laid a hand on his sword, and he looked like he might draw the weapon at any moment.

Tsukuyo decided to try and get his attention. "G-Gintoki," she sputtered.

Gintoki immediately snapped out of his angry state and turned to look at her again. "Tsukuyo?" he said, sounding worried.

He quickly ran over to where her body lay and knelt down. His hands hovered over her like he wasn't sure if he should touch her or not. His eyes were scanning her body, instantly noticing everything that was wrong with her. The bleeding, the bruises, her limp arm…

Gintoki put his hands to his head. "I…I can't believe this…" he said quietly. "How…how could I have let this happen? This is all my fault…Tsukuyo, I'm sorry…"

Tsukuyo just looked up at him, not quite sure what to say. After a while, Gintoki removed his hands from his head, only to have them hover over Tsukuyo's body once again. There was a moment's hesitation before he eventually decided that he couldn't just leave her like that forever. He gently slipped his arms underneath her and slowly picked her up.

Tsukuyo winced a little bit as she rose through the air. She was still in a lot of pain, and being moved around didn't exactly make it feel any better. Once she was safely in his arms, Gintoki turned around and started walking away, heading back towards the door.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm sorry that you were so worried about me. I'm sorry for everything that I've put you through. I never wanted this to happen to you. I never wanted you to be hurt…I just wanted to keep you safe…"

Tsukuyo suddenly found herself smiling up at the man. "You lied," she whispered.

Gintoki looked confused. "Huh?"

"You lied," she said, still weakly smiling. "You said…that you didn't…care about me…you lied…"

Gintoki stared at her for a second before giving her a small smile in return. "Maybe I did lie…so what? Look, if it makes you feel any better, you can kick my ass later. But for now, you need to focus on staying alive."

At that moment, Kamui, who was still standing a short distance away, decided to chime in. "Sheesh, I sure am glad that I'm done fighting with that weakling. She was so boring. I think that I'm about ready to fight a true warrior now."

A shadow fell over Gintoki's eyes. He ever so slightly turned towards Kamui. "Shut up," he said through clenched teeth.

Kamui ignored him and continued smiling. "Honestly though, how can someone as useless as her be-"

"I SAID TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Gintoki roared behind him.

Kamui looked stunned and immediately stopped talking. He had not been expecting such a sudden outburst from his opponent.

Tsukuyo, on the other hand, looked up at Gintoki almost out of fear. She had rarely ever seen him so angry before. It was kind of scary.

Gintoki soon noticed the look on Tsukuyo's face before taking a deep breath. He calmly walked over to a spot next to the door. He then carefully lowered Tsukuyo down until she was safely sitting on the floor. He leaned her body back against the wall before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Tsukuyo," he said, looking directly at her. "I'm going to get you out of here, I promise. However, you're going to have to be a little bit patient. Please, just wait here for a little bit, alright?"

Tsukuyo stared back at him. "I understand, Gintoki. I'll wait patiently. Just make sure that you follow through on that promise you made to me on my birthday…"

Gintoki was a little confused again. "What promise?"

Tsukuyo lightly smiled. "Don't you remember? You said 'Just let me know if that Kami guy ever starts mistreating the city like Hosen did. I'll be sure to come right away and kick his ass.'"

Gintoki quickly remembered what she was referring to. I did say that, didn't I?

"Gintoki," Tsukuyo whispered once more, "kick his ass."

Gintoki stared at her for another second before standing up. "I will," he said with a determined nod. He then turned around to face Kamui, who had been silently watching the samurai.

Gintoki's eyes flickered back to Tsukuyo for a moment before focusing on Kamui again. "I understand, Tsukuyo," he said quietly. "I understand why you wanted to fight him so badly. It wasn't just about rescuing me from his clutches, was it? No, you also had a personal score to settle with him. He fooled you, and all of Yoshiwara. He used you. He abused his power as the overlord. That's why you hate him so much…that's why you wanted to fight him…"

Tsukuyo silently stared at Gintoki's back. She didn't know what to say. His accusations were completely correct.

Gintoki put a hand on his sword. "I understand," he said again. "Well, don't worry, because I'm going to carry your resolve into battle…along with my own…"

Gintoki drew the blade out of its black sheath. He held it out in front of him, both hands clasped around the hilt. "I'm not worried about losing anymore," he declared confidently. "My desire to win is too strong. Kamui, I swear, I am going to defeat you, right here and now."

A smile came to Kamui's face. "Finally," he said excitedly. "I'm finally going to get what I want…a fight with a true samurai…"

Gintoki gave him a cold glare. "Be careful what you wish for…"

Without another thought, Gintoki flew at the boy. He swung his sword in a wide arc, aiming straight for his opponent's head. At the last second, Kamui lifted up his umbrella out of defense. The two weapons collided with a loud clang.

Gintoki and Kamui glared at each other for a split second before quickly retracting their weapons. Gintoki then went on the offensive again by throwing a great fury of attacks at Kamui. Using his umbrella, the Yato managed to match each blow and redirect it away from him. Nevertheless, Gintoki continued to swing from several different angles in an attempt to hit the boy.

Eventually, Gintoki went in with a horizontal slash while Kamui grinned. With little effort, Kamui swung his umbrella downward and hit the tip of Gintoki's sword to the floor. Smiling in triumph, Kamui glanced up at his opponent, hoping to see the surprised look on his face.

"What's the matter? Did I-"

BAM!

Out of nowhere, a fist had suddenly hit Kamui right in the jaw. The force of the impact made the boy take a few steps back. He quickly looked to his opponent. Gintoki had just punched him.

"You talk too much," said the samurai coldly. He lifted the tip of his sword up from the ground and charged at Kamui again. Another wave of slashes fell onto the Yato as he struggled to recover his original stance. Before long, Gintoki was actually forcing the boy back. He was soon trying his best to block the samurai's fierce attacks.

Faster! thought Gintoki. Harder! Stronger! Swifter! Give it everything you've got! Use all of your strength! Take this bastard down!

Gintoki felt himself becoming more determined and doubled his effort. Kamui was now desperately blocking each slice that came at him. A few seconds later, a scratch appeared on Kamui's arm. Then one appeared on his leg. Gintoki was getting close to landing a full hit…

At that point, Kamui decided to take a risk. He quickly shifted his priority from defense to offense. If he could just land a hit on the samurai before he was hit himself, it might just end up saving him. Without another thought, Kamui thrust his umbrella at Gintoki while he was barely vulnerable. Gintoki noticed this and decided to take his opportunity as well.

Gintoki quickly lifted up his foot and latched it onto the tip of the incoming umbrella. Using all of his strength, he forced the weapon to redirect into the floor while also taking a small step forward, balancing all of his weight on the foot that held down the umbrella. He was now close to Kamui. Without even a single second's hesitation, he thrust his sword into the body of the Yato.

Kamui stood there looking completely stunned. The blade had pierced him right in the middle of the chest. Kamui just stared at it for a moment before smiling.

"Wow. You actually injured me," he said, sounding impressed. He looked up. "Perhaps I should start getting serious?"

Gintoki tried to pull the sword out of his opponent, but it was too late. Kamui was now smiling maliciously as he firmly grasped the blade of the sword. He was holding on to it so tight that Gintoki was unable to make it move. Soon enough, a small trickle of blood was falling out of Kamui's hand. Still grinning, the Yato lifted one of his legs and hurled it at Gintoki. The kick hit the samurai right in the stomach, and he immediately flew across the room into the opposite wall.

Shit! he cursed as he fell to the ground with a thud. The wall behind him had been fairly damaged from the impact. That really hurt! And now I'm weaponless too! How the hell am I supposed to beat this kid now!?

Gintoki frantically glanced around for anything that might help him, and he soon found something. A short distance away from him, the wall was covered with protruding kunai from top to bottom.

How did all those get there? he wondered vaguely as he stood up. Oh yeah, it must have been Tsukuyo's doing. Well, I better make the most of them!

As he hurried over to the wall, Kamui just smiled as he gently removed the sword from his chest. A small spurt of blood came out of his new wound once the weapon was free. Kamui then held the weapon in his free hand as he watched the samurai remove several kunai out of the wall.

Once he was ready, Gintoki turned back around. He now had a kunai in each hand, and several more stored inside of his clothes. He watched Kamui carefully before hurling the first one. The kunai was fast, and it had a lot of force, but Kamui still managed to step to the side at the last moment.

Gintoki threw another one, followed quickly by a third one. Kamui dodged them both. By now Kamui had started to notice something. The kunai were being aimed towards his right side, the side where his arm held the samurai's sword.

"Are you trying to get this back?" taunted the Yato as he lifted up the sword. "What are you trying to make me do, drop it?"

Gintoki didn't answer. Instead he drew two more kunai and took careful aim. He threw the first one. Once again, Kamui dodged. He was about to start laughing at this failed attempt when he suddenly froze. A kunai had actually just pierced his right arm…from behind.

Out of surprise and pain, Kamui accidently loosened his grip on the sword and it started tumbling out of his fingers. At the same moment, he took a quick glance behind him to see Tsukuyo's heavily panting body still lying on the floor. Her good arm was outstretched, and she had a slightly satisfied look on her face.

I don't understand thought Kamui, looking confused. Did she still have more kunai on her? Wait…no, it was those kunai that I dodged! Gintoki specifically threw them so that she would be able to catch them from behind me! He was actually arming her as I dodged! Damn, that was clever!

At the same instant, Kamui realized the samurai's sword was now falling to the ground, completely out of his grasp. He quickly went to grab for it as it fell, when another kunai pierced his arm, this time from the front.

Kamui hesitated again as he looked forward. Gintoki was now charging at the Yato and he was starting to close in. Gintoki quickly hurled one final kunai at the boy, and it was heading straight in between the sword and Kamui's hand. Kamui instinctively retracted his hand as the sword hit the ground.

In the next instant, Gintoki had closed the distance between them and he was now reaching low for his sword. Kamui, looking upset, threw a horizontal swing at the samurai. Gintoki noticed this and used all of his speed to launch himself into a dive for his free weapon. He reached out his arm…

He grabbed it! He landed with a small roll and quickly spun around. With his sword back in his hand, he jumped for the Yato. Kamui, who was still one step behind, desperately tried to swing his umbrella back around.

For a second, the weapons connected and paused in midair. Then, as if time had continued again, Gintoki's sword started moving forward along the side of the umbrella. Gintoki was using all of his strength and all of his speed to move that blade…

GO! he shouted in his mind. Hit this bastard! Make him bleed! TAKE HIM DOWN!

With a shower of sparks, Gintoki's sword slid along the side of the umbrella and fell right onto Kamui's shoulder. The cut went in deep, and blood flew out of the new wound. As Kamui flinched, Gintoki quickly removed his sword from the shoulder and took a few steps back. He didn't want to risk losing his weapon again.

Kamui glared up at the samurai as he clutched his bleeding shoulder. There was a smile on his face. "That was smart," he said between breaths. "Using the woman to your advantage in order to surprise me. Very clever…"

Gintoki didn't respond. He just stood there and readied himself for what might come next from the boy across from him. To his surprise, Kamui actually dropped his umbrella to the floor. Now that his hand was free, he reached over to his right arm and began removing the two kunai that were buried inside of it. Gintoki watched him warily. He was trying to prepare himself for anything that Kamui might be planning.

Kamui dropped the first kunai to the floor, next to his umbrella. The second one, however, he held in both of his hands. He was turning the kunai over and over, watching the weapon as he revolved it with the tips of his fingers. Eventually, he glanced up. He stared at Gintoki. Gintoki stared back.

What's he up to? he wondered as he stared into the boy's blue eyes. They both stood there for a moment, when suddenly, in just a fraction of a second, Gintoki noticed that Kamui's eyes had flickered towards Tsukuyo, who sat behind him…

Oh no.

Without even thinking, Gintoki moved so that he was placed right in between Kamui and Tsukuyo. He had been just in time too, for Kamui had just launched the kunai straight at the disabled courtesan. The weapon ended up planting itself firmly in Gintoki's chest.

Tsukuyo, who had barely seen what had happened from her spot on the floor, knew that Gintoki had been injured in some way. "Gintoki!" she cried weakly.

Kamui, on the other hand, looked rather curious. "Damn," he muttered to himself. "I was hoping to finish off that woman for good. But then Gintoki had to go and get right in the way of that-"

"Listen up, you," said Gintoki quietly. A shadow had fallen over his eyes, but he was still looking directly at Kamui. "You can try all you like, but I've suddenly decided to make a vow. I will never, as long as I am able, ever let you harm Tsukuyo again. You've hurt her in more ways than one, and it makes me sick. No, it makes me furious. So don't think that you're going to be able to do anything to her until you've taken care of me, because I'm not going to allow this any longer…"

Gintoki suddenly ripped the kunai out of his chest without even looking at it; his eyes were currently glaring at Kamui. He slowly lifted up his sword and pointed it at the Yato. "I swear, Kamui, I will not stop until I have cut you down!"

Once Gintoki was finished speaking, the room went silent. Kamui gave him another curious look before eventually grinning.

"Very well," said the boy, an excited look in his eyes. "If that is the way you want it, then let us presume our match, just me and you. That is actually the way I would prefer it, after all…"

Meanwhile, Kagura and Shinpachi were running throughout the hallways of the palace. After their last encounter with the guards, they had yet to meet anyone else.

"Do you really think that we took out all of the guards back there?" asked Shinpachi.

"Maybe," said Kagura, "but we should stay alert just in case."

"Right," agreed Shinpachi. "However, in any case, I think that our job as the distraction has been finished. Even if they still have more guards, they're not sending anybody after us anymore. For now, I think we should just focus on looking for Tsukuyo-san and Katsura-san."

"And then we'll find out if they've saved Gin-chan yet," finished Kagura.

"Exactly," said Shinpachi as they turned a corner. "I think that-" He paused. "Whoa, what is that!?"

Shinpachi had come to a stop, and so had Kagura. Shinpachi was now pointing at something that lay on the floor towards the end of the hall. It looked like a body, and it lay still in what appeared to be a small pool of blood.

Kagura inched her way towards the body. "Hey, could that be…?"

"Katsura-san!" Shinpachi exclaimed, suddenly recognizing the body. He ran up to the samurai, Kagura following behind him.

"What's happened to him?" asked Kagura as they frantically knelt down next to him and sat him up. "His entire front is covered with blood!"

"He must have been attacked!" shouted Shinpachi. "Katsura-san?" he tried calling. "Katsura-san!"

"Shinpachi…" whispered Kagura, sounding a little scared, "Zura's not dead, is he?"

Shinpachi quickly searched the body for a pulse. He gave a small sigh of relief when he found it. "He's alive, just unconscious."

"Oh…good."

"But he is still extremely injured though," said Shinpachi, carefully examining the body. "It almost looks like he was cut right across the chest. And look at all of these other injuries too! We need to get him out of here and treat his wounds right away."

"Right," said Kagura with a nod. She helped lift Katsura off of the ground when a thought struck her. "But wait, what about Tsukky and Gin-chan?" We still have to find them, don't we?"

Shinpachi stared at her for a moment before looking down. "You're right, we have no idea if they might also need help. We really can't just leave without them…but still, we can't just leave Katsura-san here either."

"I'll find them," said Kagura suddenly.

"What?"

"You take Zura and go. I'll find Tsukky and Gin-chan."

Shinpachi was silent for a moment. "Are you sure about this? You'll be all by yourself, and you're covered in injuries too."

"So are you," she replied simply.

Shinpachi sighed. Truthfully, he did not really see any other way out of this situation. "Fine," he agreed, "I'll get Katsura-san out of the palace and I'll start tending to his wounds once we're safe. And you-"

"I'll find Tsukky and Gin-chan, grab them, and get out of here as fast as I can," said Kagura. "I promise."

Shinpachi smiled as he lifted Katsura onto his shoulders. "Alright, be careful then," he said as he turned to leave.

"Idiot, worry about yourself," she advised as she also turned away.

Without another word, Shinpachi started running back down the hall, heading for what would eventually lead to the front door. Kagura went in the opposite direction, making her way deeper and deeper into the heart of the palace…

Well, hello! Wow, it has been a really, really long time since this story has been updated. It's been like what, a month? Six weeks or so? Wow, I really do owe you guys an apology. I'm sorry that this took so long! This should have been out ages ago, but unfortunately, certain circumstances prevented me from doing so. School and work have been keeping me busier than ever, and I just didn't have time for my story. Other things also distracted me and I procrastinated quite a bit. I know that you guys were really hoping for a quick update after the last chapter, but I was really slow on this one. I'm sorry. Please forgive me!

But hey, here it is, right? The chapter made it in the end, didn't it? I hope it was worth the wait. If not, well…I'm sorry again XD Anyways, let's talk about the chapter! Um…Gintoki said the F word. Nice, huh? XD I thought about censoring it, but then I said, "F*ck it!" and just went ahead and wrote it! Yes, I am such a rebel! A renegade! A very naughty author! Huh? Oh, I just censored it right there…um…yeah…I don't know XD

Next chapter: the Gintoki vs. Kamui finale! Expected release: uh…no promises! I'd honestly like to get it out a lot sooner than this one did, so we'll see! Let's hope for the best! Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts, comments, complaints, or a message forgiving the author for being late! That would be great! Please, do that! Until next time! Bye!