Silver Moon – Book 3 Chapter 8
"What the hell is going on here?" asked Gintoki as he firmly held Kagura's arm in place.
The girl calmly stared back at him with a blank expression. "Let go," she said.
Gintoki glared at her for a second before glancing past her. He saw Tsukuyo laying there on the rooftop, bloodied and bruised. This image only seemed to infuriate him more as he turned his attention back to the Yato.
"I said, what the hell is going on here?" he repeated, this time a little a louder.
Kagura's eyebrows began to fold inward, making her look displeased. "I said let go," she replied.
Gintoki clenched his teeth as he stared at her. "Kagura, answer me. Is this situation really what it looks like?"
Kagura just ignored him as she gave a frown. She was starting to grow impatient. "Would you just let go already so I can finish her off?" she demanded angrily.
Gintoki silently gulped as he continued glaring at her. I don't believe this; she really is attacking Tsukuyo…
Gintoki suddenly paused as he felt Kagura trying to pull her arm free of his grip. He instinctively tightened it before throwing the girl behind him. "Get back!" he shouted.
Kagura crouched down as she skidded to a halt. She then looked up with a frown.
Gintoki stared back at her as he stood in front of Tsukuyo. He would have to make sure that Kagura stayed at a distance until he had some answers.
Tsukuyo, suddenly noticing his presence, looked up at him. "Gintoki…?"
"Tsukuyo," Gintoki whispered as he glanced back at her. "Are you okay? What the hell happened?"
Tsukuyo coughed a little bit before she gave him an answer. "It's Kagura, there's something wrong with her…I think she might have gone crazy…"
Gintoki gave her a weird look before facing towards Kagura again. What is she talking about? This situation doesn't make any sense. How could Kagura possibly attack her?
Meanwhile, Kagura stood up with a devious smile on her face. She then slowly walked up to Gintoki before stopping in front of him. "Move aside," she said.
"What?" asked Gintoki, starting to grow angry again.
"Move aside so I can kill her," she requested.
"Are you out of your mind?" asked Gintoki. "Answer me! What the hell is going on here!? Why are you attacking Tsukuyo right now!?"
"Do I really have to explain this?" asked Kagura impatiently. "I can't wait much longer! I have to kill her!"
Gintoki clenched his fists. "Answer me," he repeated.
Kagura gave him an annoyed look. "Fine, I'll tell you. I want to kill Tsukky because she's going to ruin my life. She's going to force you to marry her, and then she'll take you away from me. After that, I'll be left all alone. It's going to be absolutely dreadful. So now, I'm just trying to prevent that by getting rid of her for good…"
Kagura paused for a moment in order to let her words sink in. She then pointed at Tsukuyo, who sat behind Gintoki. "Now move aside, so I can finish her off…"
Gintoki remained silent at first. He closed his eyes for a moment. Then, without warning, he swiftly slapped Kagura across the face. She turned her head away in pain.
"Stop acting like a lunatic and pull yourself together!" Gintoki shouted at her. "Do you even hear what you're saying right now? Do you even realize what you're doing? Are you seriously about to kill Tsukuyo over something stupid like that? Honestly, what the hell are you thinking!?"
Kagura slowly looked back towards Gintoki with a resentful frown on her face. "My only problem is Tsukky. I won't stop until she is dead."
Gintoki couldn't believe what he was hearing. For some reason, it seemed like Kagura was undeniably hell-bent on taking Tsukuyo's life. "You'll have to go through me first," Gintoki warned her.
"I don't want to fight you, Gin-chan. Move."
"No."
"Move."
"No."
"MOVE!"
"NO!"
"Grr…enough of this!" Kagura shouted as he clenched her fists. Without warning, the girl jumped forward, trying to slip around the samurai that blocked her path.
Gintoki, however, was very alert and ready for an attack. Without hesitating, he quickly drew his wooden sword before hitting Kagura in the side with it. The girl was instantly knocked away onto another rooftop with a loud crash. A small cloud of dust rose up from were she had landed.
As Gintoki stared at her, he firmly grasped his sword with both hands. He then glanced over to Tsukuyo. "You were right," he told her quietly. "I don't know why, but it looks like Kagura has gone completely insane."
"Do you think it could have something to do with her Yato blood?" mumbled Tsukuyo as she looked up at him.
"Not sure…" Gintoki replied, eyeing Tsukuyo carefully. "Can you move?"
She tried to, only to end up wincing in pain. "Er, not really…"
Gintoki gave a sad sigh. "That's fine. Just stay right there then. I will protect you."
"O-okay," said Tsukuyo with a small nod.
Meanwhile, Kagura was picking herself up from amongst the scattered rooftop tiles. She looked down at the wounds that Tsukuyo had given her, which were now bleeding rather excessively. Kagura didn't seem to care, however. Instead, she just grinned before launching herself back over to Gintoki. She gently landed right in front of him.
Gintoki immediately held up his sword in defense. "Kagura, calm down and listen to me. You're not going to get past me. You're not going to kill Tsukuyo. You need to stop now before you end up doing something that you'll regret."
Kagura simply grinned as she tuned out his words. She was way past the bargaining stage at this point. "I want to kill Tsukky," she said, loud and clear. "And if I have to go through you first to do it, then that's exactly what I'll do."
Tsukuyo desperately looked up at the girl. "Kagura, surely you wouldn't-!?"
Kagura pointed a finger at Gintoki. "I'll just have to kill you, Gin-chan."
Gintoki's eyes narrowed when the girl said his name. He could immediately tell that it no longer held the caring warmth that it usually did. "Gin-chan" was just a title now. Nothing more. Kagura really was too far gone...
Gintoki gave the girl a glare as he pointed his sword at her. "If that's the case, then go ahead and do it."
Kagura's grin quickly turned into an excited smile. She then crouched down for a second. "Oh, I will," she said threateningly.
Gintoki barely had a moment's notice before the girl was already flying at him, trying to claw him open with her hands. He swiftly evaded her movements before knocking her aside with his sword. She quickly recovered and came at him once more. This time she went to kick the samurai in the side, and he went to slam his sword into her stomach. Both hits landed simultaneously, and the force sent the two fighters flying in opposite directions. By the time they had finally come to a stop, they were both laying facedown on opposite ends of the same roof.
Gintoki and Kagura both lay motionless there for a second before slowly rising to their feet. They then looked at each other, and locked eyes. Kagura's wide eyes and insane grin matched Gintoki's stern glare and serious frown. Without warning, the two of them began running towards each other at full speed. They were rapidly drawing towards each other. Kagura drew back her fist; Gintoki drew back his sword.
One second later, they met in the middle, their eyes still locked on one another. Kagura's fist connected with Gintoki's sword in a huge collision…
Shinpachi crouched down and held his side as he began panting. After taking a few deep breaths, he looked up to find an unbelievable sight. Gintoki and Kagura were fighting each other…
What? He wondered as he looked up. What the hell is going on? Why are those two fighting each other!?
Shinpachi hopelessly stared up at them from the street below. He then did his best to try and make some sense out of this situation..
It had all started when Gintoki and Shinpachi had been silently waiting for Tsukuyo and Kagura to come down from the roof. They had tried to be patient, but they didn't end up waiting that long before they decided to go up and check on the two girls. However, to their surprise, nobody was to be found on the roof of the Odd Jobs building. They had stood around for a little bit, wondering where they might have disappeared to when they eventually heard a lot of noise in the distance. It had sounded like someone was fighting, and there was even some yelling mixed in. Gintoki immediately became worried and began hopping from rooftop to rooftop towards the source. Shinpachi, on the other hand, had made his way back down to the street before pursuing the samurai on foot.
And now, after all that, Shinpachi had finally ended up in his current position. Still panting, he looked up at his two friends, completely confused. I don't understand…why is Gin-san attacking Kagura-chan? Unless…
Shinpachi suddenly caught a glimpse of Kagura, and it forced him to give a gasp out of fright.
Unless it's the other way around!
Kagura's eyes were wide and insane-looking. Her smile was nothing short of malicious. Yes, Shinpachi had definitely seen something like this before...
I remember he realized. It's just like that time back when we were in Yoshiwara…when you lost control of yourself in that fight and went completely insane…yes, it's just like back then…
Feeling worried for his friend, Shinpachi gave a silent gulp.
What happened to you, Kagura-chan…?
Gintoki clenched his teeth as he went to swing his sword once more. Kagura's incoming fist instantly connected with it, sending another small shockwave away from them. This continued for a while, with the two of them matching each other blow for blow. However, as the fight dragged on, Gintoki and Kagura started to put more speed and less power behind their attacks. They were soon swinging and punching wildly.
Eventually, Gintoki found an opening. Using his quick reflexes, he slammed his sword into the girl's side. Blood immediately flew out of the wound that Tsukuyo had inflicted earlier. Kagura barely winced before she reached out and grabbed Gintoki by the shirt. She then pulled him in close as she kneed him in the stomach.
Gintoki coughed a little bit before he recovered. As he looked up, he noticed that Kagura had vanished from sight. He worriedly started to wonder where she might have run off to when he suddenly caught a glimpse of her.
As it turns out, Kagura was rapidly jumping and sprinting around the samurai. She was actually moving so fast that she was almost impossible to see. However, her fast footwork ended up leaving behind quite a bit of noise, which Gintoki quickly picked up on.
Focus he told himself. Find out where she is…
As Gintoki narrowed his eyesight, he caught another glimpse of the girl sprinting in front of him. She simply glared at him with a frown before disappearing again.
Gintoki silently raised his sword over his head. He then waited for a second before his eyes shot open wide.
There!
Gintoki swung his sword vertically and caught Kagura in mid-jump. In response, she quickly planted her feet on the rooftop before holding up an arm in defense. By doing this, she managed to effectively block the attack.
They then locked eyes again, for the briefest of moments…
Gintoki retracted his sword and charged towards the girl. She began running too, right alongside him. As they sprinted, they threw a flurry of blows at each other. Kagura began receiving small cuts along her body, while Gintoki was beginning to feel the ache of blows that just barely missed his vital areas.
"Grr, enough of this!" Kagura shouted as another tiny cut opened on her shoulder. Without warning, Kagura dived down towards the samurai's feet.
Taken by surprise, Gintoki tried to stop himself, but it was too late. He ended up tripping right over Kagura's body. He roughly fell facedown on the rooftop.
Kagura mischievously grinned to herself. "Ha, it worked!" she shouted as she grabbed ahold of Gintoki's ankle. As she rose to her feet, the samurai's leg came with her. Using her full strength, she then lifted Gintoki over her head before slamming him into the rooftop behind her.
"AH!" Gintoki coughed. Using his free leg, he kicked the Yato girl right in the jaw. She instantly let him go. He fumbled around for a second before quickly getting back to his feet.
Gintoki then took a step forward as he swung his sword horizontally. Kagura noticed this and she jumped over the attack. She then swung her leg around and kicked the samurai across the face. Quickly recovering, Gintoki used his free hand to give the falling girl an uppercut. The punch hit her right in the cheek. As soon as she landed, Kagura retreated by jumping back a few steps.
After that, Gintoki and Kagura began heavily panting as they glared at each other.
"Are you done yet?" Gintoki asked her between breaths. "Have I finally managed to beat some sense into you?"
Kagura slowly inhaled. "No," she breathed.
Gintoki gave her a disapproving look. "So you're still going to go through with this? You're still going to attack Tsukuyo?"
Kagura gave him her most serious glare yet. "I already told you; I will not rest until she is dead."
Gintoki clenched his teeth. "You really are insane…"
"I'm not insane," Kagura replied adamantly. "This makes perfect sense to me! I'm just trying to get what I want. And getting rid of Tsukky is what I've wanted for weeks now…"
Kagura then paused before clenching her fists. She then spoke to him in a whisper. "I will have what I want…"
Kagura flew at him once more, fist raised. Gintoki positioned his sword defensively as he absorbed the blow. He then retracted the wooden blade slightly as Kagura landed on the rooftop. Taking careful aim, he thrust his sword right through the girl's wounded foot. This caused the gash to open up even more, sending blood flying.
Kagura attempted to jump back, but it was no use. The sword had her foot pinned down. Realizing her position, the girl changed tactics and leaned in towards Gintoki. She then slapped him out of frustration.
Gintoki quickly turned back to face her. He grabbed her by the chin and roughly squeezed her. She opened her mouth and bit his hand. He instantly let go. He kicked her in the side. She punched him in the stomach.
Gintoki decided to withdraw his blade from the girl's foot. He immediately swung it around and hit the Yato across her face. Growing frustrated again, she went to tackle the samurai. Gintoki fell over backwards while Kagura landed on top of him. Clenching her fist, she raised it up. Gintoki quickly thrust his sword at her face. It hit her right in the middle of her forehead. Kagura paused as her vision went blurry for a second.
Seizing his opportunity, Gintoki threw the girl off of him. He jumped to his feet before drawing his sword back again. He then slammed it against the back of the girl's head.
"Rgh!" Kagura grunted in pain. She shot back up and twisted around to kick Gintoki. He jumped back, just barely dodging it. Kagura then raised up a fist as she charged him. Gintoki brought his sword back, putting all of his strength into it as he swung it back forward.
Once again, Gintoki's and Kagura's attacks met with a huge collision. The intense force of the blows could be felt flying away from them. Amidst the noise, Gintoki could hear his sword starting to creak under the pressure. It would not last long.
Using what little strength he had remaining, Gintoki pushed his sword against the girl's fist. Kagura tried to fight back, but she could not halt his advancement. She was growing tired and bleeding heavily. Her head was also starting to get a little dizzy from being hit so many times. She was almost at her limit. In fact, the drug inside of her was the only thing keeping her going at this point.
"RAAAH!" Gintoki roared as he finished his swing. It hit Kagura full force and sent her flying away. She roughly landed on another rooftop and tumbled around for a second before coming to a complete stop. She then motionlessly lay there, all spread out.
After a few seconds, she pushed herself up with a groan. "Ugh, this really hurts. I need to hurry up and finish them both off…"
With a determined glare, the girl rose to her feet. Gintoki noticed this and raised his sword up in front of him again. There was currently a lot of distance between them, but he knew that it would not take long for Kagura to close it if she wanted to.
She's got to be at her limit he thought to himself. I just need to land a finishing blow…
Kagura glared at Gintoki. He glared back. Their eyes locked for a second. This only seemed to infuriate Kagura, who clenched her fists as tight as she could. Blood immediately flew out of the one that was severely wounded. Needless to say, she didn't care. She was completely focused on her target.
"RAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Screaming as loud as she could, Kagura took off at a run towards the samurai. With each step she took, she picked up the pace a little bit. Before long, she was running at a furious speed.
Gintoki carefully watched her as he raised his sword over his head. He firmly grasped it with both hands.
Once she was close enough, Kagura launched herself forward off of the roof. She was now rocketing towards the samurai through the air. She opened her arms up and stretched her fingers out. She was ready to claw him open…
Gintoki continued watching her as what little distance left between them rapidly began to close. He tightened his hold on the sword…
Less than a second later, Gintoki brought his sword down as hard as he could. It collided with the incoming Yato, hitting her right on the top of her skull. The wooden sword immediately snapped in two from the force of the impact. Kagura was knocked down onto the rooftop, her momentum completely gone. She didn't even utter a sound before her fatigue won her over and she lost consciousness.
Gintoki began panting heavily as the remains of his shattered sword fell around him. He cautiously looked down at the girl before him. He then breathed a sigh of relief. She was finally knocked out.
"Serves you right, you shitty brat," he muttered between breaths. "I mean, honestly, what the hell were you thinking? You were completely out of control…"
Gintoki then paused before shaking his head. There was no point in lecturing this lunatic now; there would be time for that later. What he should be doing instead…
"Tsukuyo!" Gintoki remembered, looking behind him. The fight had ended up carrying the two of them away from her. Without a second thought, Gintoki began backtracking until he arrived at the spot where she had been left behind.
To his surprise, he found Shinpachi crouching down next to her. The boy immediately noticed the samurai's presence. "Ah, Gin-san!" he sad looking up.
Gintoki quickly rushed over to him. "How is Tsukuyo? Is she alright?"
Shinpachi looked back down at the courtesan with a look of doubt. "I don't know; she lost consciousness…"
"She's covered in bruises," said Gintoki, looking her over. "We need to get her treated as soon as possible."
"Gin-san, what even happened here?" asked Shinpachi, looking extremely lost. "It looked like you were fighting with Kagura-chan earlier, and then later I found Tsukuyo up here, completely unconscious…"
"I'll explain later," Gintoki told him. "Right now, we need to focus on getting Tsukuyo some help."
"Er," began the boy quietly, "and what about Kagura-chan…?"
Gintoki glanced back at the rooftop where he had left her. "I'll figure something out," he said, looking back at Shinpachi. "I think I might have an idea of what to do with her. Nevertheless, we should take care of Tsukuyo first."
Shinpachi stared at him for a second, before giving a small nod. "Alright, fine" he agreed. "Just promise that you will explain this crazy situation to me later…"
Gintoki gave a silent nod as he looked back to Kagura's motionless body. To be honest, I'm not even sure that I really understand this situation myself…I mean, did Kagura really go insane? Is the answer really that simple?
Hmm…I don't get it. I thought that Tsukuyo and Kagura had always gotten along pretty well with each other…They never really did anything to get on each other's nerves…In fact, I always thought that they really liked each other. But then, if that's the case…
What could have possibly happened between them to make Kagura so eager to kill Tsukuyo?
Well, that was the chapter. Uh…I'm not really sure what to say here…Poor Kagura, I guess? Or maybe it's poor Tsukuyo…Hmm, probably both XD
Anyways, let's just change the topic! (Because why not?) So I recently started playing the game Fire Emblem Fates. It's really really really good. I love it so far. I've played Fire Emblem Awakening and Sacred Stones prior to this, and yeah, I gotta say that Fates is definitely living up to my expectations. I would certainly recommend buying it and giving it a try. Well, if you have an opportunity to buy it, that is…I've heard that this game is selling out like crazy. So yeah, good luck I guess XD
Fire Emblem aside, I think that's about all I have to say for now. As for what to expect in the next chapter: uh…you'll just have to wait and see what happens! That's right, no preview this time! (Please don't hate me XD) As always, feel free to leave a review and look forward to the next chapter! See you then!