"P.S. Just carry on to the book 3 after you finish this arc. XD"

"Can't wait 'til your next arc!"

"Well as long as there's a lot of Gintsu interaction, I will love it!"

"Looking forward to book 3!"

"Can't wait for book 3."

"The next arc sure has me hyped! GinTsu forever :D"

"Tears of joy woahhhhhhh finally! I can't wait."

"I'm looking forward to the next book and can't wait for it!"

"J'attends avec impatience le livre 3" (I look forward to the book 3)

"I'm really really really really really looking forward to book 3, I just hope you'll start releasing soon, and that there will be more books afterwards and that even when the Gintama Manga/Anime ends, your story will last forever, zuuuuuuuto!"

Well, you asked for it, so here it is ;)

Silver Moon – Book 3 Chapter 1

3 Months After the Events in Book 2…

It was a hot summer day in the middle of June. The sky overtop of Yoshiwara was perfectly clear and the city was bathed in sunlight. Most of the citizens were currently outside, taking the opportunity to relax and enjoy the nice weather. Despite this, however, there were still two citizens that chose to remain indoors…

Tsukuyo was quietly snoozing with her head facedown on the table in front of her. Hinowa glanced over at her and smiled as she watched the courtesan peacefully sleep.

It's not surprising that she's so tired right now thought Hinowa. After everything that she's been through in the last few weeks, she really does deserve a little rest…

It was true. Tsukuyo had been incredibly busy over the past couple of weeks in preparation for an upcoming ceremony. She was getting ready to be married to her fiancé, Gintoki. Needless to say, the preparation for such an event required an exhausting amount of work to be done. And, seeing as Tsukuyo played a majorly important role in this event, it was not surprising that she became responsible for most of it. Not only did Tsukuyo have to plan everything out, but she also had to put it all together too.

Although, it was not as if she was doing it without help. Gintoki had also taken a big part in the planning and Hinowa had been more than happy to lend the couple a hand. The three of them had all managed to start throwing the ceremony together without too much trouble.

However, this was not the only thing that had made Tsukuyo so tired. In addition to the preparation of her wedding, Tsukuyo had started taking several private lessons with Hinowa on how to become a proper wife. Hinowa had thought that it would be essential to learn some simple household skills for when the couple would be living on their own, so she insisted that Tsukuyo take lessons on basic cooking and cleaning, among other important things. When the two of them had time to spare, Hinowa would try her best to teach Tsukuyo everything she knew.

And, if all of that hadn't been keeping the poor girl busy enough, she still had to uphold her primary duty of leading Yoshiwara's police force as well. Tsukuyo was responsible for protecting the city, after all. She couldn't always just skip out on the job whenever she felt like it. The Hyakka needed her there, so Tsukuyo would just have to be there.

In any case, Hinowa understood that Tsukuyo had been through a lot of hard work the last few weeks, and that a break was well deserved. In all honesty, Hinowa was actually perfectly content to just let the girl sleep and get some rest, but she knew that she would unfortunately have to wake her up. There was something important that she had to do, after all…

Hinowa put a hand on Tsukuyo's shoulder and gently tried to shake her. "Hey, Tsukuyo, wake up."

Surprisingly, Tsukuyo seemed to bolt awake immediately. "Huh?" she said in a daze. "What is it?"

"You need to wake up," Hinowa explained calmly with a smile.

A look of concern quickly fell over Tsukuyo's face. "Oh no. Did I fall asleep? I'm sorry; I don't know what happened. I was just so-"

"Exhausted?" asked Hinowa with a smirk. "It's alright, Tsukuyo. I think you needed a little rest anyways."

"What?" asked Tsukuyo. "No, I think I'm fine. What I really need to do is get back to work."

Hinowa just gave a gentle sigh. "You can relax, Tsukuyo. There's no point in working yourself to death. Besides, there's hardly anything to do right now anyway. We've already got a lot of work out of the way."

Tsukuyo gave her a weird look, as if what Hinowa was saying couldn't possibly be right. She stared off to the side for a moment before glancing back. "We did remember to send out the invitations, right?" she asked, sounding a little worried.

"Yes," Hinowa assured her, "we sent them out a few weeks ago, remember?"

"Oh…that's right…"

"See?" asked Hinowa as she took on her motherly role. "You really could use a little more sleep."

Tsukuyo just yawned before lazily glancing over to her. "In that case, why did you even bother to wake me up, huh?"

Hinowa simply smiled. "I woke you up because it's almost time for you to leave for Gin-san's place."

"Gintoki?" repeated Tsukuyo. "Oh, that's right! I'm supposed to be heading over there today!"

"Almost forgot, did you?" asked Hinowa playfully.

"Yes, I did," said Tsukuyo, sounding relieved. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Of course," replied Hinowa. "Are you going to be heading out now, then?"

"Yeah, I should probably get going," said Tsukuyo as she rose to her feet.

"What are you going over there for anyway?" asked Hinowa curiously.

In response, Tsukuyo just shrugged as she raised her arms up to her sides. "No idea," she said. "Gintoki just said it's a surprise…again…"

"Well, Gin-san is just full of surprises, isn't he?"

"I suppose," said Tsukuyo with a smile. "Anyways, I better head out. I'll be back later!"

"See you then," said Hinowa with a wave goodbye.

Tsukuyo then left the room in order to start making her short journey to the surface…

Meanwhile, out in the vastness of space, a single spaceship glided among the stars. Within the helm of this ship, three people were silently gathered around an elliptical table. One man was sitting off to the side by the window, gazing out at the stars. Another man was standing up straight, with his hands balled into fists at his sides. Finally, a woman was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. The trio stood in silence for a while, apparently waiting for something.

"I wonder what this upcoming meeting is all about," said the woman known as the 'Crimson Bullet': Kijima Matako. "Shinsuke-sama has refused to explain himself."

Across from her, the man with balled up fists known as the infamous strategist, Takechi Henpeita, decided to respond. "Shinsuke-dono has not informed me of anything either," he said indifferently.

"I expect that this meeting will be about why we have suddenly set a course for Earth," said the final man known as the music-loving terrorist, Kawakami Bansai. "Shinsuke will probably announce that we are going to proceed with an attack."

"An attack, huh?" asked Matako as she looked off to the side. "Is it finally time for that?"

"Shinsuke must think so," said Bansai as he continued staring out into space. "But then again, who knows? When it comes to Shinsuke, it could be anything."

"Whatever it is, it must be incredibly important," said Takechi in a serious tone. "Shinsuke-dono wouldn't have assembled us all here if it wasn't."

Matako thought about it for a second. "I guess that makes sense," she said. "If we really are going to go through with an attack on Earth, then Shinsuke-sama will definitely need the most capable members of the Kiheitai by his side."

"Hey, what about us?" asked a new voice from the entrance of the room.

Everybody turned to find a grinning pair of Yato standing in the doorway. It was none other than the Harusame representatives themselves, Kamui and Abuto.

"You two were called here as well?" asked Matako distastefully. She never usually was happy to see those two.

"Shinsuke told us to show up for the meeting," explained Abuto in a calm tone. "He said he'd be needing us."

"I guess you guys aren't the only ones that he can rely on," said Kamui, still grinning.

Bansai turned and plainly stared at the two Yato. "I'm surprised that he still called you guys here, considering that little stunt you pulled a few months ago."

"Oh, you mean that little trip we took?" asked Kamui curiously.

"I'm referring to when you and your men just up and disappeared without telling us anything," said Bansai in an emotionless tone.

"Oh, that's not such a big deal," explained Kamui. "We just took a vacation to the city of Yoshiwara for a little bit. Everyone needs a little vacation time, right? Besides, you don't even have to worry about something like that happening again. After all, we ended up earning ourselves a lifetime ban from the place. Isn't that right, Abuto?"

"That's right," said Abuto with a frown. "We overstayed our welcome and they ended up sending us packing."

Matako looked at the two of them in disgust. "Is this whole thing a joke to you two?" she asked angrily. "You can't just run off whenever you want to have some fun. Honestly, I don't even know why Shinsuke-sama trusts you so much…"

"I think that they are plenty trustworthy," Takechi suddenly chimed in. "We both have something to achieve from working together. And say what you want, but the addition of their strength is highly valuable to Shinsuke-dono, and to us as well."

"That's right, Takechi-san," said Kamui with a large grin. "Keep telling her how valuable we are. Maybe someday it will start to sink in."

Matako simply turned her head away in frustration. "Whatever," she said, "you're just lucky that Shinsuke-sama is so willing to forgive fools like you."

"Hey now," said Abuto with another frown. "We apologized for our actions a few months ago and Shinsuke was fine with it."

"Yeah," agreed Kamui, "and in order to make up for it, we promised Shinsuke that we would follow his orders on this new plan of his. We agreed to do whatever he asks of us this time around."

"It's nice to see that you're so eager to help," said Bansai, this time with a small grin of his own.

"In any case," said Kamui as he crossed his arms, "where is Shinsuke at? I thought that this meeting was supposed to start soon."

"It is," explained Takechi. "He'll probably be here in a few minutes."

"He should be the last of us then," said Bansai quietly. "I doubt anyone else will be showing up for this."

"So it will probably just be us six?" asked Abuto as he took a seat at the table.

"I'm excited!" exclaimed Kamui as he joined Abuto. "I can't wait to hear what he's planning!"

"You don't have to," said another new voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned to look. There, standing silently at the entrance, was the leader of the Kiheitai himself, Takasugi Shinsuke. He quietly gazed across the room with his typical small smirk. In one hand, he gently held his lit kiseru pipe, which had a little trail of smoke coming out of the end.

"Well, it looks like everybody is already here," he said in a calm, cool voice. "Shall we go ahead and get started then?"

Everybody silently nodded their head in approval before they took a place at the table. They then patiently waited to hear what he was going to say. Takasugi himself simply kept silent for a while before he too took a seat at the head of the table. He looked out at his allies with a smile.

"By now, I'm sure that you are all aware that we have recently set a course for Earth," he said in a smooth voice. Everyone else immediately focused on listening, silently taking in every word he said with their full attention. For some reason, Takasugi had always had a talent for explaining things in such an appealing manner.

Takasugi looked around at everyone again before he continued. "I'll bet that you're all wondering why we have chosen Earth as our next destination."

"Is it going to be an attack?" asked Kamui eagerly.

"Shhh!" Matako quickly hushed him. "Let Shinsuke-sama speak!"

Everyone turned back to look at Takasugi, who persisted with his tiny grin. "Allow me to explain what's on my mind," he said in a polite tone.

He closed his eyes for a second as he took a light smoke from his kiseru. He slowly exhaled before he continued. "It would seem that I have been away from home for far too long," he declared quietly.

Everyone simply watched him in silence, anxiously awaiting his next words.

"It would also seem that many changes have come about in my absence. Time has passed, and the lives of the people of my home country have developed without any influence from me…People have died, babies have been born, children have grown up, people have changed…and some have even fallen in love…"

Takasugi closed his eyes again as she showed his teeth with a grin. "Such is the passage of time…"

The others continued listening with their upmost attention. How was this man able to make everything he said sound like pure poetry?

"In any case," Takasugi continued, "back in my country, it would seem that there is a new upcoming event that has oddly piqued my interest." He paused for a second to glance at his allies again. "I assume that most of you are familiar with my old friend, Sakata Gintoki?"

Everyone immediately became surprised upon hearing this. Takasugi almost never mentioned that man, let alone refer to him as an 'old friend'.

"You mean that white demon, the Shiroyasha?" asked Takechi politely.

"The very same," said Takasugi.

"What about him?" asked Kamui with an enthusiastic grin.

"Heh, figures you'd get excited," said Abuto quietly to himself.

"Anyways," said Takasugi, calling their attention again, "one of my spies back on Earth managed to pick up the information on this specific upcoming event. Surprisingly, he learned about it from listening to a conversation between Katsura and his own rebel faction. It's rather odd, really. Who would've thought that they would be talking about something like this?"

"What is it, Shinsuke-sama?" asked Matako curiously.

It seemed like Takasugi just couldn't stop smiling. "As it turns out, Gintoki, the Shiroyasha himself, has managed to find a lover. And not only that, but it would seem that he is about to be married to her."

Takasugi glanced around again. "That's right, the event that I am referring to is Gintoki's upcoming wedding."

"Oh, wow," said Kamui as he quickly turned to Abuto with a smile. "It seems like Gintoki eventually decided to commit, eh?"

"I suppose," said Abuto as he rolled his eyes. "What the hell do I care?"

"He's right, Shinsuke," Bansai suddenly chimed in. "That may have been an offhand comment just now, but it's still true. Basically, it's interesting to learn that the wild Shiroyasha is finally settling down and all, but what does this have to do with us?"

"You weren't planning on attending the ceremony, were you Shinsuke?" asked Kamui with a snicker.

Surprisingly, Takasugi's smile faded to be replaced with a frown. "Believe it or not," he said seriously, "I am hardly happy to hear this news. On the contrary, I am actually upset. Angry, in fact. I hate the thought of Gintoki getting what he wants. Why should he deserve to find happiness with this woman? It makes me burn with rage…"

Takasugi paused for a second while his grin reappeared. "Therefore, I intend to put a stop to it…no, I intend to put a stop to all of it…"

Kamui quickly matched his grin. "Are you referring to…?"

"We will strike Edo before the ceremony," Takasugi declared with a malicious look. "I want to attack several key places of interest and bring about their complete destruction. I want to cripple Edo so badly that it will never be the same again. I'm talking about a large scale invasion from us, the Kiheitai."

"Now we're talking," said Kamui, his grin growing wider.

"However," continued Takasugi, suddenly holding up a hand to silence Kamui, "there is still a small problem that must be addressed immediately."

"It's the Shiroyasha, right?" asked Bansai quietly.

"Correct," said Takasugi. "As long as that man is around, he will continuously go out of his way to put a stop to me and my plans. He always has before, and this time will be no different. He is intent on stopping me, no matter what I do. Therefore, I believe that we must find a way to deal with him from the start. It would be best if he were long gone before we kick our plan into gear."

"How are we going to get rid of him, Shinsuke-sama?" asked Matako.

"I could fight him again," suggested Kamui with an excited look in his eyes.

Takasugi raised his hand again to bring silence upon the room. "That won't be necessary," he said calmly. "I already have an idea of how we can strike at Gintoki. In fact, I have already put a plan into motion. I will inform you all on the details later. Just know this: if the plan does succeed, then Gintoki should end up completely at our mercy, and we'll get the chance to mess with him quite a bit along the way. That in of itself should be a satisfactory bonus for us…"

Takasugi then paused to inhale from his kiseru again. Once he was done, he looked back at his comrades. "So tell me, what do you all think? Are you in on the plan?"

"It sounds great!" shouted Kamui before anyone else could answer. "Abuto and I are definitely in."

Abuto just lazily looked at his captain before rolling his eyes. "Right, let's go raise some hell," he mumbled.

"I also think that it is a great idea," Matako chimed in. "I can't wait to go lay waste to Edo. It's been far too long since we've struck there."

"If you think that this is the right course of action, then I see no problem with it," said Takechi with a straight face. "I will follow you on this one."

Takasugi then turned to the last of them, his trusted comrade, Kawakami Bansai.

They silently stared at each other for a second before a small smile broke out on Bansai's face. He soon followed by giving his leader a thumbs up.

Takasugi smiled to himself upon seeing this. Such a simple man he thought with delight.

"It is decided then. We will proceed with our plan to attack Gintoki and the plan to attack Edo. May the fates smile upon us..."

Matako stared at him for a second. "I didn't know that you believed in fate, Shinsuke-sama…"

Takasugi just gave a small laugh upon hearing this. "I don't," he said seriously, "I just believe that people get what's coming to them. That is my idea of fate…"

The room went silent after this, until a sudden message from overhead cried out. It was an announcement being echoed throughout the ship.

"Attention, Takasugi-san!" the message bellowed. "The Earth is now viewable from our position. We will be arriving in Edo shortly."

"I see…" said Takasugi calmly.

Once the announcement was finished, Takasugi slowly rose out of his seat. He then strode over to the front window that sat across the room. He gazed out into space. Sure enough, the round shape of the Earth could be spotted growing larger and larger with every passing second.

Takasugi glared at that growing sphere with nothing short of pure excitement. "Perfect," he whispered with a malicious smile, "simply perfect…"

Hey guys! I'm back! And it was only a couple of weeks too, like I promised! Nice, huh? Anyways, we're moving into Book 3 now! And guess what? It's all about Takasugi! Cue the screams of terror and delight! (I'm the latter XD)

But yes, Takasugi and the Kiheitai will be the main villain of this arc. He is the man referred to in the summary as "a demon from the past". I wasn't quite sure how to refer to him while still keeping it a mystery, so that's the best I could come up with. However, now that his role has been revealed, I might just change the summary to say Takasugi instead. It doesn't have to be a mystery forever, right? We can at least let people know what this is about XD

Recently, I've found something very interesting about the Gintama section for Fanfiction. You can filter all of the Gintama stories by sorting them through different categories such as reviews, follows, and favorites. In other words, you can actually rank all of the Gintama stories through those categories. I was curious about where my story ranked, so let's see what I found!

As of December 2015, Silver Moon is ranked:

Reviews: #33 with 97 reviews.

Favorites: #238 with 41 favorites.

Follows: #66 with 53 follows.

Wow! Not bad, eh? This shows a lot of promise! Thanks to all of you who made these rankings possible! By the way, does anyone else even check these things? No? It's just sad, isn't it? XD

But still, looking at this makes me to want to rank higher! In other words, it encourages me to keep writing! Maybe we can even come back and look at these rankings every once in a while, eh? That way, we can see how much the story has progressed in terms of popularity. I think it will be fun, so we'll plan on that!

Even so, thank you all for loving my story so far! I'll keep writing, so let's all promise to move forward! But for now, do me a favor and leave a review for the first chapter of this new arc! (It will help the rankings! XD) Thanks! See you next chapter!