Silver Moon – Book 3 Chapter 11

"I'm Shinsuke. Takasugi Shinsuke."

Tsukuyo blankly stared at the man. She paused for a second. Takasugi Shinsuke? I think I've heard that name before…

Takasugi curiously stared back at Tsukuyo. "Is something the matter?" he asked innocently.

"No," said Tsukuyo slowly. "I was just thinking about how familiar your name sounds. I'm almost certain that I've heard Gintoki and Katsura mention it before."

"Oh, Gintoki and Katsura, eh?" asked Takasugi with a grin. The man crossed his arms as he relaxed in his chair. "I'll bet they didn't have anything good to say about me…"

"No, probably not," Tsukuyo agreed with a smile. "But I think that's normal for them. Gintoki in particular seems to enjoy complaining about his friends."

"Heh, that does sound like him," said Takasugi with a nod. "He's always been like that."

"Really?" asked Tsukuyo, growing intrigued. "That's interesting to hear. Tell me, Shinsuke, how long have you known Gintoki?"

"I've known him since we were kids. The same goes for Katsura."

"I see," said Tsukuyo, still smiling. "Then you must have known Sakamoto as well?"

"Oh yeah, I know that fool," said Takasugi with a small laugh. "He came along later, but we treated him as a comrade just the same."

"Wow, that's so interesting," said Tsukuyo, her eyes gleaming.

Takasugi noticed the look on her face. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Didn't you know all of this beforehand?"

Tsukuyo shook her head. "No, Gintoki never told me much about his past before…"

"Oh, he likes to keep it a secret, does he?" asked Takasugi, his grin growing wider. "Hmph, that fool. What kind of man decides to keep secrets from the woman he loves?"

Tsukuyo just stared at the man in silence. She didn't know what to say.

Takasugi glanced at her. "You know, I could tell you about his past, if you want to know more…"

Tsukuyo's eyes widened. "Gintoki's past?"

"That's right. I could tell you about everything we went through together since we were children. It's a rather fascinating story. I'm sure you'd love to hear about it…"

Tsukuyo looked down and gently clasped the blanket that rested on top of her. She considered his offer for a moment before slowly looking back up. "I…I would like to hear about his past…but I'm afraid that I'll have to refuse your offer."

"Oh? You refuse?" asked Takasugi with another grin.

"Yeah," said Tsukuyo quietly, looking off to the side. "It's not that I don't want to hear about it. Trust me, I've been wondering about his past for quite some time now. But it's just…well, I think that Gintoki must have his reasons for not sharing this information with me before now. I honestly think that he's just not ready yet. And…"

Tsukuyo looked back at Takasugi with a serious determination in her eyes. "And I want to wait for him to be ready to share it with me. I'm not going to force him and I don't want to hear it from someone else. I made a promise to myself that I would be patient. So, I'm sorry, but I'm just going to have to deny your offer."

Takasugi slowly closed his single eye as he listened. "I see," he said quietly. He then paused for a second before reopening his eye and smiling at Tsukuyo. "Gintoki seems to have found himself a wonderful bride, hasn't he?"

Tsukuyo blushed a little bit before looking away. "Th-thank you," she mumbled in response to the unexpected praise.

"He must be lucky to have found someone like you," said Takasugi as he casually glanced at a nearby clock. "Oh my, it's already much later than I thought it was," he said abruptly. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go and make a phone call."

"Oh, of course," said Tsukuyo politely.

"Great, I'll be right back," Takasugi assured her as he rose from his seat. He then departed from the room while Tsukuyo silently stared after him. She softly smiled to herself as she leaned back against her bed.

It's amazing to see how many people Gintoki has connections with. Who would have thought that he had so many old friends?

Gintoki, Shinpachi, and Otae walked into Snack House Otose only to have everyone's eyes fall on them at once. The group of onlookers surrounded the trio, as they had apparently been awaiting their arrival. Within the bar stood Otose, Catherine, Tama, Kyuubei, Sachan, Hasegawa, Sakamoto, Mutsu, Katsura, Elizabeth, and surprisingly enough, even Ikumatsu. Gintoki just glanced around at them all as they stared back.

"What are you all looking at?" asked Gintoki innocently.

Otose quickly erupted. "We're looking at YOU, you idiot!"

"Why?"

"Why do you think!?" Otose barked at him. "We've been waiting here all day to hear some news about Tsukuyo!"

Shinpachi just gave a sigh from behind his boss. "Stop messing with them Gin-san. You already knew that they were going to ask you about this."

"Really?" asked Gintoki as he picked his nose. "Must have slipped my mind."

"JUST TELL US ABOUT TSUKUYO!" Otose demanded.

Gintoki just ignored her as he turned to face the unexpected guest amongst the crowd. "Hey Ikumatsu," he said calmly. "I'm surprised to see you here."

Ikumatsu just stared back at him with a frown. "I decided to come over as soon as Katsura told me about what had happened to your bride. Tell me, how is she doing?"

"Yeah, how is Tsukky?" asked Sachan, sounding concerned.

"Is she all right?" asked Kyuubei.

Gintoki just glanced at all of them once more before answering. "Tsukuyo is fine. She has some serious cuts and bruises, but she's being treated in the hospital right now."

Upon hearing this, the entire room seemed to give a collective sigh of relief. "Glad to hear it," Otose mumbled.

"That's great news!" Sakamoto blurted out happily. "Ah ha ha ha- OOF!"

Mutsu retracted her elbow after jabbing Sakamoto in the side with it. She then glared at him with clenched teeth. "Fool! Read the situation!" she hissed.

Sakamoto just coughed in response. "Sorry…"

Katsura decided to speak up. "So what's going to happen now?"

"What do you mean?" Gintoki asked him.

"What are you going to do about your wedding now that Tsukuyo is incapacitated?" Katsura asked seriously.

Upon hearing this, everyone shifted their eyes back to Gintoki, awaiting a response from the samurai. Gintoki just gave a sigh before glancing down at the floor. "I think we're going to have to postpone it for now…"

Otae gave a small gasp of surprise from beside him. "Oh no!" she cried. "Your going to postpone it?"

"Well of course he is," said Catherine from across the bar. "What other choice does he have?"

"It's true," agreed Hasegawa. "With Tsukuyo in such a condition, there's no way that they can continue on with the current schedule."

Gintoki looked over to Otae. "It's for the best," he told her.

Otae simply frowned. "I know," she said quietly. "It's just so sad…"

"Yes," Tama chimed in. "Gintoki-sama and Tsukuyo-sama were just about to be married and then something like this happens. It truly is tragic."

"It will be all right," Gintoki declared reassuringly. "Tsukuyo is tough. She'll pull through this and then we'll just get married later. It's no big deal."

Everyone stared at the samurai with a sad expression. Some of them murmured his name as they watched him. They felt bad having to watch their friend go through something like this, even if he claimed that it was "no big deal".

Otose was the one who eventually broke the silence. "What about Kagura?" she asked.

Gintoki paused upon hearing the girl's name. He then stared back at the old woman. "What about her?"

"What are you going to do with the girl?"

Gintoki just looked away. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I guess I'll just keep her locked up for now. There's not much else I can do with her…"

"All of this is so hard to believe," said Katsura quietly. "Why would Leader want to attack Tsukuyo like that?"

"That girl was never that ferocious before, was she?" asked Sakamoto, trying to remember.

"Of course not," Otae chimed in. "Kagura-chan could be a little feisty sometimes, but she was still one of the sweetest girls around."

"It's true," agreed Hasegawa. "She would never attack anybody out of the blue like that."

"Then why did she?" asked Kyuubei, looking around the room.

The room went silent for a second before all eyes landed on Gintoki again. The samurai just scratched the back of his head. "I don't know," he said. "I'm still trying to figure it all out myself."

"Something weird is going on," Otose declared suddenly. "This whole situation just sounds really suspicious."

Catherine looked at her. "What are you trying to say, Otose-san?"

"I'm not entirely sure," the old lady replied honestly. "I just can't help but feel like things aren't quite what they seem."

The room went silent once more after this. Nobody knew what to say anymore. Gintoki himself wasn't quite sure what to make of his landlord's words, so he just brushed them aside. "Look, I promise that I'll try and get to the bottom of this as soon as I can. For now, I need to go back to the hospital and check up on Tsukuyo. I told her that I would come back to visit her later."

Everyone in the room simply gave a nod in the samurai's direction. They honestly felt too depressed to really say anything at this point. Gintoki just nodded in return and then went to take his leave. He paused however, when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He slowly turned around to find Shinpachi staring at him.

"No matter what happens, we'll always have your back, Gin-san," he said quietly.

Gintoki simply continued staring at the boy for another second before softly smiling. "Right," he replied. After that, the samurai faced forward again, and exited the building…

Meanwhile, back in Tsukuyo's hospital room, Takasugi calmly reentered from the hallway. He then slowly made his way back to Tsukuyo's bedside where he took a seat once more. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I was just calling for my ride."

"It's no problem," Tsukuyo replied. "Are you planning on leaving soon?"

"Yes, my ride should be here shortly."

"I see," said Tsukuyo. "You know, I think that Gintoki should be coming back here soon. If you're willing to wait a little bit, you could probably meet up with him."

"Meet up with Gintoki?" repeated Takasugi with a grin. "Heh, that would be interesting…"

"Why is that?" Tsukuyo asked curiously.

"Well, it's been a while since we've last seen each other. I can't help but wonder how he would react."

Tsukuyo couldn't help but smile at this. "Who knows? Gintoki is completely unpredictable sometimes."

"That's true," Takasugi agreed with a small smile. "But enough about me and Gintoki; I haven't even had a chance to ask you about yourself. Tell me, Tsukuyo, how are you feeling?"

Tsukuyo looked down at herself with surprise. Meeting this man had almost made her forget that she was injured and in the hospital. "I'm fine," she replied. "I'm a little sore, but I'll pull through."

"That's good to hear," said Takasugi with a small smile. He then paused for a second before frowning. "It was rather tragic to hear about what had happened to you in the first place. Is it true that you were attacked by a young Yato girl?"

Tsukuyo simply returned his frown. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"I also heard that this girl was rather close to you and Gintoki."

Tsukuyo nodded sadly. "That's right. Her name is Kagura."

"I see," said Takasugi. "And she just attacked you out of nowhere?"

"That's correct."

"Wow," said Takasugi, sounding surprised. "That's crazy."

"I can't really believe it either," said Tsukuyo with a sigh. I had always thought that Kagura and I were friends. I don't understand how something like this could have ever happened between us."

"Hmm," mumbled Takasugi as he stared up at the ceiling. "You know, I've heard that the Yato are known for being incredibly vicious when it comes to combat. Do you think that this attack has something to do with her nature?"

Tsukuyo paused for a second as she considered her answer. "No, of course not," she said adamantly.

Takasugi glanced at her out of surprise. "Really? You don't think that this might have just been a natural reaction for the girl?"

"No," Tsukuyo insisted as she shook her head. "Kagura would never do something like this unless she had a reason…"

Tsukuyo paused once more. Something about last night's events struck her as odd. Things didn't quite add up.

This reaction isn't normal for her…

"Now that I think about it, this doesn't really make any sense," Tsukuyo said suddenly. "Look, I've known Kagura for a long time, and I've never seen this viciousness that you speak of before. Not from Kagura, anyway. She's actually a lot more harmless and delicate than you'd think. This reaction would be the exact opposite of natural for her…"

Takasugi simply listened with interest. "Oh?"

"Something must be wrong here," said Tsukuyo sternly. "I'm sure of it."

The room went silent for a moment after Tsukuyo finished. Takasugi just gave her a small smile before he spoke up. "Well, it's nice to see that you have faith in your friend even after all of this has happened to you," he said sincerely. "It's very admirable."

Tsukuyo soon found herself returning his smile. "Oh, well thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm glad that Gintoki has found someone as pure-hearted and devoted as you."

Tsukuyo was about to thank the man once more, but she paused when a small ring interrupted her. Takasugi simply glanced down towards one of his kimono's pockets before pulling out a cell phone. Apparently, he had just received a message. The samurai briefly glanced at the message before grinning. He then pocketed the cell phone.

"Well, the time has just flown by, hasn't it?" he asked Tsukuyo. "It's about time that we got going."

Tsukuyo was about to respond to him, but quickly stopped herself. She then gave the man a confused look. "Excuse me, Shinsuke, but did you just say 'we'?"

"That's right," Takasugi replied. "We need to get going."

Tsukuyo stared at him, more confused than ever. "What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the man asked with a wicked smile. "You're coming with me."

"Huh!?" asked Tsukuyo, taken aback. She quickly tried to sit up into a better position, but her wounds hindered her movements. She just winced as she stared at the man's smile. Shit, I don't trust that look at all…

Without hesitating, Takasugi proceeded to reach into one of his pockets and withdraw something. He then held it up for Tsukuyo to see what it was. It was relatively small and spherical in shape. Nevertheless, Tsukuyo instantly realized what it was.

It's a bomb…

Takasugi soon clicked a button on the bomb before hurling it at the windows across from him. Despite her wounds, Tsukuyo barely managed to scramble out of bed and away from the wall before the bomb made contact. The moment it did, the wall was blown to pieces.

Tsukuyo clenched her teeth as she held her head in her hands. Tiny pieces of glass and rubble were falling around her, but they weren't causing any harm. Once things started to settle down a little bit, she looked back to see a cloud of dust covering the newly made hole where the wall used to be. She noticed Takasugi standing in front of it, still grinning. He turned to look at her.

"Look, our ride's here," he said, gesturing outside.

Tsukuyo squinted through the dust only to find a large spacecraft waiting outside her room. As she watched, the ship was slowly moving closer towards them. Tsukuyo could only watch in horror as the man known as Takasugi Shinsuke advanced towards her…

Gintoki walked into the hospital only to be met with a huge surprise. Everything was total chaos. Doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors were all running in different directions, desperately trying to get away from the scene. Gintoki wasn't quite sure what to make of this, but he immediately knew that something was wrong. He quickly grabbed a nearby nurse by the arm and pulled her close to him.

"Hey, lady, what the hell is going on in here?" he asked. "Why is everyone going crazy?"

"D-didn't you hear it just now?" the nurse stuttered. "Th-there was an explosion on the eleventh floor!"

"What!?" Gintoki shouted. "Are you serious!?"

"Ah! You're hurting me!" the nurse screamed as she pushed on Gintoki's arm. "Please, let me go!"

Gintoki barely heard a word that she had said. His mind was racing wildly right now. The eleventh floor…That's where Tsukuyo is!

Without another word, Gintoki threw the nurse aside and madly rushed off towards the stairs. He soon began climbing them as fast as he could, desperate to get to the eleventh floor. As he ran, his mind was flooded with confusing questions that he couldn't even begin to answer.

There was an explosion on Tsukuyo's floor? Why? What happened? Is Tsukuyo okay? What's going on? Why are there so many damn stairs to climb!?

Before long, Gintoki reached the floor he was looking for and rocketed off down the hall towards Tsukuyo's room. To his horror, there appeared to be a small congregation of people outside of it…

"Out of my way!" he demanded, forcing his way into the room. "Tsukuyo!?"

Gintoki froze as he looked around the room. The far wall was blown to pieces, leaving a gigantic hole in its place. Dust and debris covered the room. Gintoki glanced over to Tsukuyo's bed. It was empty.

Gintoki quickly grabbed another nearby nurse from the hall. "What happened here!?" he demanded. "Where's Tsukuyo!?"

"I…I don't know!" the nurse cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I-it must have been that man who visited her! He must have done this!"

"What?" shouted Gintoki. "Somebody visited Tsukuyo!? Who!?"

"I don't know!" she cried again. "He didn't give a name!"

"Describe him for me!" Gintoki barked, his eyes sparking with rage.

Terrified, the nurse tried to stir her memory. "Uh, I-I remember he wore a purple kimono that was covered in butterflies! And he also had a bandage covering one eye!"

Gintoki froze once more as he stared at the nurse. His eyes slowly widened. "Seriously?" he breathed.

"Yes, that's all I know!" she screamed. "I swear!"

Gintoki just let go of the nurse as he glanced back at the missing wall. Staring at the gaping hole in terror, Gintoki suddenly realized who he was dealing with...

And that's the chapter! Man, things have gotten pretty intense, haven't they? Well good! That's just the way I like it! By the way, I'm sure you're all wondering why I chose the eleventh floor as the location of Tsukuyo's room! (I actually bet that no one is wondering that XD) Well, I'll tell you! It's because this is the eleventh chapter of Book 3! That's all! Real creative, huh? XD

Anyways, it's time to continue my list of favorite Gintama characters! Here we go!

Number 9: Hasegawa Taizou

I just love this guy to death. Why? Because he's literally one of the most selfless individuals you'll ever see. He may be cursed with some of the worst luck ever, but every time he gets a chance for something good to happen to him, he ends up blowing it off just to make somebody else better off. That's crazy. And he does it all the time too! Like seriously, he's so nice! I honestly think that Hasegawa needs to become the Shogun or something XD I mean, come on, he would do such a good job! And then the guy who has nothing would literally end up with everything! It's a great ending for a great man! Another thing I love is that Hasegawa's depression can be downright hilarious sometimes XD Also, did you see how badass he looked in the last chapter!? (596 O_O) But yeah, I mostly just love Hasegawa for his selflessness. I've decided to try and give this guy a happy life in my story, so please don't beat down on him saying that he has to be depressed all the time. Like seriously, just give the guy a break already! Sheesh! XD

But that's enough about him. I'm done for now. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter! Next time: part of Takasugi's plan comes to light! Please look forward to it! Thank you! Goodbye!