Silver Moon – Book 3 Chapter 12

Tsukuyo slowly opened her eyes and put a hand to her aching head. As she moved, she immediately winced at the unexpected feeling of pain that overcame her. Coming to her senses, she suddenly remembered that she was still heavily injured after fighting with Kagura. The rest of the events that had taken place earlier that day soon came flooding back to her.

Ugh, my head feels so dizzy…I must have been knocked out after we left the hospital…

Looking around, Tsukuyo tried to determine where she was. It was dark, but Tsukuyo could still see that she was actually inside of a prison cell. Several iron bars locked together both vertically and horizontally, creating an inescapable cage. The door to the prison sat right in front of her, but it was closed shut and most certainly locked. Tsukuyo didn't even bother trying to open it; she decided to spare herself the energy.

After glancing around the room a little longer, Tsukuyo looked down at herself. She was still inside of a hospital gown, and all of her wounds were fortunately still bandaged. Nevertheless, her injuries still hurt, and movement wasn't easy. It was obvious that she should be back in the hospital, still being monitored, but she no longer had any control over that. She was completely at the mercy of her captors.

Just as Tsukuyo was about to curse her situation, the door at the end of the room surprisingly opened up. As light flooded into the dimly lit room, Tsukuyo was able to notice that there were several other prison cells alongside her own, all of which were empty. Squinting at the open doorway, she tried to figure out who was walking in.

"Oh, you're awake?"

Tsukuyo had already recognized the voice before she even saw the face. She immediately clenched her teeth. "Bastard…"

Takasugi just smiled as he walked right up to her cell. "Hey now, is that any way to talk to your new warden?"

"Cut the crap," Tsukuyo spat at him. "Where the hell am I?"

Takasugi simply continued smiling as he lit his kiseru and brought it up to his lips. "You're aboard my ship," he said softly. "Tell me, do you find it to your liking?"

Tsukuyo just looked away without answering. This bastard's messing with me…

Takasugi grinned at the girl's obvious display of willpower. "Anyways, I suppose I should apologize for what happened back at the hospital. You must have been quite surprised. Then again, I only managed to get away with it because you were so trusting of me."

Tsukuyo refused to utter a sound as she continued looking away.

"Perhaps I should reintroduce myself, with a couple more details this time?" asked Takasugi condescendingly. "I wouldn't want you to make any rash judgments about me. After all, misjudging my intentions can be a rather deadly mistake."

Tsukuyo couldn't listen to this anymore. "Just who are you?" she demanded coldly.

Takasugi grinned once more. "Well, as I said before, my name is Takasugi Shinsuke. I am the leader of a terrorist organization known as the Kiheitai. We traverse the universe and create chaos wherever we go. As the leader, I feed off of destruction. I love to watch things burn. Buildings, cities, people, relationships…"

Takasugi paused as he inhaled from his pipe. "You see, Tsukuyo, there's a black beast writhing inside of me, and it begs for vengeance. So I simply destroy, until the best stops howling…"

Tsukuyo cringed upon noticing the man's wicked smile. "You're insane," she said quietly.

"Am I?" asked Takasugi innocently. "It's really all a matter of perspective if you think about it."

"I don't care," said Tsukuyo bravely. "What do you want from me? Why did you bring me here?"

Takasugi simply smiled before bringing his pipe back to his lips. "You're the bait," he said ominously.

Tsukuyo just looked confused for a second before the realization came to her. Smiling triumphantly, Takasugi went to take his leave.

"See you later, Tsukuyo," he said in a taunting voice.

Tsukuyo watched him walk out the door before closing it behind him. The room was then plunged into darkness once more. As her eyesight began to adjust, Tsukuyo inwardly cursed.

Damn it…I get it now. He wants Gintoki to come after me. It's all a big trap, and I'm the bait. If Gintoki actually shows up here, it will just end up playing right into this bastard's hand. Damn it all…

And of course, the worst part is that I already know that idiot fiancé of mine will come after me…It's only a matter of time…

Tsukuyo slowly closed her eyes as she gave a sigh. Don't do it Gintoki. For once in your life, just stay safe. Please…

Back at Shinsengumi headquarters, Kagura's room was once again being monitored. Kondo and Hijikata had taken up positions in front of the girl, while Sogo remained in the corner of the room. Kagura glanced at each of them from time to time, but none of them paid her much attention. Sulking in dismay, the girl just looked away.

This is so depressing…how long am I going to stay locked up in here? Days? Weeks? Months?

Shivering at the thought, Kagura just frowned. Well, whatever the punishment is, it's fine. I know that I deserve it. I did something completely unforgiveable to Tsukky, and I wouldn't be surprised if nobody ever trusted me again…

Kagura sighed heavily. How did it come to this? she wondered sadly.

Just then, the door to the room slammed open. Kagura immediately jolted in surprise, but the Shinsengumi officers calmly turned around to see what was going on. To their surprise, one of their subordinates stood in the doorway.

"Chief!" the man cried. "I have an urgent report for you!"

Kondo walked up to him. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"It's about that hospital incident that we reported a little while ago!"

"Hospital incident?" repeated Kagura, completely confused. She hadn't heard of such a report, so she assumed that it must have happened at some point when Kondo and the others had left the room. Nevertheless, she began to grow curious.

Kondo simply remained calm. "Did our division manage to calm things down over there?"

"Yes, they did!" the underling continued. "But they found out something important while they were there!"

"What was it?" asked Hijikata, cutting in.

"Apparently, just after the explosion happened, a kidnapping was reported. One of the hospital's patients went missing. As for the leading suspect behind all of this, the reports are suggesting that it may have been the handiwork of the infamous terrorist, Takasugi Shinsuke."

"Takasugi!?" Hijikata spat out. "He attacked the hospital!?"

Kagura tried to piece the story together as she listened. So there was an explosion at the hospital and a patient was kidnapped? And they think it was some guy named Takasugi…Why does that name sound kind of familiar…?

Meanwhile, Sogo decided to question the officer further. "How do you know that it was Takasugi?"

"The hospital staff that was on the scene described his image perfectly, and the crime definitely seems to fit his character. At this point, all signs are pointing towards him as the culprit."

"I see," said Kondo, quietly assessing the situation. "You said he took a hostage, right? Do we know who it was?"

The man briefly shook his head. "Not really. According to the report, it was apparently some woman originally from Yoshiwara."

Kagura's eyes immediately widened upon hearing this. "W-what?" she choked out.

Kondo quickly turned to look at her. "What's the matter?"

"I don't believe it!" she cried. "It's Tsukky! It has to be!"

Sogo also looked at her. "Wait, you mean that woman you attacked and put in the hospital…is now the same woman that has just been kidnapped?"

"Yes!" Kagura shouted at him.

"Huh," said the boy in wonder. "Well, she must be having a rough day…"

"This is no time for jokes, idiot!" Kagura screamed out of fury. "Tsukky is in danger! We have to go help her!"

"Hey, calm down!" Hijikata ordered her. "We'll get this figured out."

Kagura just ignored him. "Let me out of here!" she demanded.

Kondo looked at her out of shock. "What!?"

"Let me go!" she continued. "I want to go and save Tsukky! She's gotta be in pretty bad shape right now, so she'll need help as soon as possible! Release me, please!"

"N-now hold on a second," said Kondo, raising his voice. "I can't just let you go."

"Oh, come on!" Kagura begged. "I can't just sit here and do nothing while Tsukky is in danger!"

"Well it's not your choice!" Kondo suddenly barked at her. "Listen up! Right now, as far as I know, you're still a dangerous threat to this woman! And not only her, but everyone around you as well!"

"Oh come on!" Kagura shouted again. "This is ridiculous! I'm not going to attack anybody!"

"Then prove it," said Hijikata, suddenly chiming in.

Kagura paused for a second as she looked at the demon vice chief. "Just trust me!" she insisted. "I swear that I won't do anything wrong! Believe me, I'm telling the truth!"

The room went silent for a moment after this. The Shinsengumi officers simply stared at the imprisoned Yato girl, while she desperately stared back. Eventually, Kondo just looked down and slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry little girl, but there's just no way that I can trust you right now."

Kagura could feel her heart fall in dismay. She quickly clenched her teeth before shouting once more. "You can trust me! Just let me go and you'll-"

"That's enough!" Hijikata shouted. "The chief has spoken, and his decision is final. Now why don't you go ahead and spare us all by stopping this incessant torrent of nonsense."

Kagura clenched her teeth harder after hearing this. "It's not nonsense, I'm telling the truth. Now if you idiots would just listen to me-"

"Hey, I said that's enough," said Hijikata once more. He then turned his attention back to his chief. "What's our plan?"

Kondo just stared at him for a second before turning towards the officer who had originally come to deliver the message. "Go and have all of our forces assemble themselves. We're going to attempt to go after Takasugi." He then paused before he posed a question. "Do we have a lead as to his whereabouts?"

"Ah, yes sir!" the officer quickly replied. "We believe that he escaped from the hospital on a large spacecraft. We've managed to find the ship and are currently tracking its movements. We assume that Takasugi and the hostage are both on board."

"The spacecraft hasn't left the atmosphere?" asked Sogo, sounding curious.

"Apparently not," the officer continued. "It appears to be leaving Edo at a relatively slow pace."

"Slow huh?" asked Kondo as he put a hand to his chin. "In that case, we should be able to catch up to it…"

After a moment of consideration, Kondo made up his mind. "All right, it's decided. We're going to go after that thing. Our goal will be to try and rescue that woman and then to take down Takasugi if possible. Go ahead and issue this report to all officers, and then tell them to prepare for departure."

"Yes chief!" the officer replied. The man quickly ran out of the room, hurrying off to fulfill his orders.

Kondo then turned to Hijikata. "Toshi, you and I will go and handle this situation. As for the girl…"

Kondo let his sentence drift off as he glanced at Kagura. He then turned towards Sogo. "We'll leave you in charge of keeping an eye on her, Sogo."

Sogo just shrugged with a frown. "Okay," he said plainly.

"Now hold on a second!" Kagura screamed at the top of her lungs. "You're leaving me alone with him!?"

"Yes," said Kondo bluntly. "Now be a good girl and behave yourself. If you do that, maybe we can let you out early for good behavior."

"To hell with that!" Kagura shouted. "You can't leave me alone with this sadist! Leave somebody else here instead! Like Toshi!"

"Who're you calling Toshi!?" Hijikata demanded angrily.

"I'm talking to you!" Kagura barked at him. "That's your name, isn't it?"

"Enough," said Kondo, holding a hand in the air to silence them. "Sogo will handle this. In the meantime, we really need to get moving. Let's go, Toshi."

"Right," the vice chief agreed.

"So it's okay if he calls you Toshi!?" Kagura screamed angrily.

"Shut up!" Hijikata barked back at her.

And with that, the two older officers left the room, shutting the door behind them. Kagura just stared at the closed door in anger before clenching her teeth and throwing a glare in the remaining officer's direction.

"Why did I have to get stuck with you?" she grumbled in distaste.

Sogo didn't respond. Instead, he just crossed his arms and continued frowning at the girl with an innocent stare. He then looked away. Kagura immediately found this behavior to be odd. She simply raised an eyebrow as she glared at him, trying to figure out what the sadist was thinking…

"Damn it," Gintoki cursed over and over. "Damn it all…"

Back at the Odd Jobs building, Gintoki was currently sitting at his desk, quietly cursing himself while he held his head in his hands. Surrounding the samurai was a small group of his friends, which consisted of Shinpachi, Katsura, Elizabeth, Sakamoto, and Mutsu. These onlookers simply watched their friend with a frown. Nobody spoke a word.

Gintoki lifted his head up a bit as he continued mourning. "How could I have let this happen?"

Shinpachi spoke up, quick to defend him. "It's not your fault, Gin-san," he said sincerely. "Honestly, how could anybody blame you for this?"

"It's true, Gintoki," Katsura agreed. "Nobody would have expected Tsukuyo to be kidnapped from the hospital. And of course, to be kidnapped by Takasugi of all things…"

"I don't understand," said Sakamoto with a frown. "Why would our good friend Takasugi remove Kintoki's bride from the hospital?"

Elizabeth quickly pulled out a sign. 'Well maybe it's because he's not a good friend of ours."

"What are you talking about?" Sakamoto asked the bird. "I'll have you know that Takasugi is our old comrade! We go way back!"

Elizabeth flipped another sign out. 'Things have changed. Your old comrade is now one hell of a villain.'

"What? A villain?" repeated Sakamoto. "I'll admit that Takasugi may be a little short tempered, but he's not a bad guy."

Mutsu just crossed her arms as she spoke up from across the room. "You're such a fool. It's obvious that this Takasugi guy is not very friendly. If anything, he's incredibly hostile, and he'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants."

Katsura glanced at the girl. "Hmph, you speak as if you know the man."

Mutsu closed her eyes as she replied. "I don't know him personally, but I can understand his personality and intentions well enough."

"Oh, Mutsu, you're so untrusting of others!" Sakamoto said with a smile. "You're actually kind of hostile yourself! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

"This is hardly the times for jokes, Sakamoto-san," said Shinpachi sadly. The boy then turned to look at Gintoki again.

The samurai just frowned as he lowered his head. "This is all my fault; I know it is…"

"Please don't say that, Gin-san," said Shinpachi quietly. "I already told you that nobody blames you for this."

"But it really is my fault," Gintoki insisted. "I'm the one that Takasugi has a problem with. He should have no interest in Tsukuyo at all. I have a feeling that he only kidnapped her because she has a connection to me."

The room was silent for a moment before Shinpachi spoke up. "But…why?"

"I don't know," said Gintoki as he looked up again. "Maybe he just wants to watch me suffer…"

Katsura just gave a sigh as he closed his eyes. "You never really know with Takasugi. When it comes to him, he's always planning one big scheme after another. This little incident could easily be part of something bigger, something completely beyond any of our imaginations."

Elizabeth produced a sign. 'You know, if Takasugi is here, then it's possible that he brought the entire Kiheitai with him as well.'

"The Kiheitai?" questioned Mutsu.

"They're Takasugi's extremist group of terrorists," Katsura explained. "They're all incredibly dangerous."

"Man, you guys are really making Takasugi out to be a bad guy!" Sakamoto exclaimed jokingly. "Ah ha ha ha!"

"Take this more seriously!" Shinpachi angrily screamed at him. "And Takasugi is evil! Take a hint already!"

Katsura just quietly put a hand to his chin. "Hmm, Takasugi, the Kiheitai…They might not be the only ones that we have to worry about…"

Gintoki slowly looked up at him. "What are you talking about?"

Katsura gave him a serious look. "I'm talking about Kamui."

Gintoki quickly shot up. "What!? You think that Kamui might be here too!?"

"Of course," Katsura replied. "Don't you remember, Gintoki? Back when we were all in Yoshiwara, he informed us that he had previously formed an alliance with Takasugi. It would be no surprise to see him show up here as well."

Gintoki's eyes widened as he listened to this. "So you're telling me…that Tsukuyo is probably alone, dealing with both Takasugi and Kamui right now?"

"It's certainly possible," Katsura agreed grimly.

Gintoki's heart felt like it stopped for a second. His eyes glazed over as he became lost in his thoughts of what could be happening to Tsukuyo at that moment. What do they want with her? he wondered desperately. Is it possible that they're hurting her? Torturing her!? She was already injured to begin with…I doubt that she can take much more! She's in danger! She needs help!

Without another thought, Gintoki rose to his feet and slammed his fists on his desk. "I can't sit around any longer," he suddenly declared. "I'm going to save Tsukuyo."

And with that, Gintoki started marching for the door. Everybody quickly spoke up, trying to stop him.

"Wait a second, Gin-san!"

"Gintoki, hold on!"

"You shouldn't go alone, Kintoki!"

Gintoki just ignored them all as he approached the doorway. He soon froze however, when the next comment reached his ears.

"You're a complete fool, you know that?"

Gintoki slowly turned to look at Mutsu, who was standing next to him. She was still leaning against the wall next to the door, arms crossed. She silently stared back at the samurai.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked quietly.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked him in return. "You're doing exactly what your enemy wants you to do."

Gintoki didn't say a word, and the rest of the room was speechless as well. Mutsu simply unfolded her arms as she turned to face the samurai completely.

"This Takasugi guy probably only went to the trouble of kidnapping Tsukuyo so he could set up a trap. He wants you to come to her rescue, so he can easily ambush you. Don't you get it? If you go to save your bride now, you'll only be playing right into his hands. The moment you decide to go after Tsukuyo, Takasugi will be ready for you, and I'm almost certain that he won't let you get away unharmed."

Gintoki continued staring at her for another second, before he tightly clenched his teeth. "So what?" he demanded.

"So what?" she repeated angrily. "Listen to me, Takasugi could have easily killed Tsukuyo if he wanted to. But instead, he went out of his way to capture her. This whole thing is obviously just a trap."

"I don't care," he hissed at her. "I'm going anyway."

Mutsu could only raise an eyebrow at the furious man before her. "You're still going, even though you know it's probably a trap?"

"Of course I am," Gintoki replied sternly. "I can't just abandon her. Even if this whole thing is a trap, Tsukuyo still needs rescued. That's a fact, no matter how you look at it. And if she needs saving, then I'm going to be the one to save her. That's all there is to it…"

This time, Mutsu clenched her teeth. She then crossed her arms again. "You're a bigger fool than I thought," she whispered.

Gintoki just ignored her. "I'm going," he declared. And with that, he exited the room.

"Ah, wait a second, Gin-san!" Shinpachi desperately called after him. "Don't leave just yet!"

The young glasses-wearing boy chased after him, and it was not long before he too left the room. Sakamoto then went to make a move. "We can't just let them go-"

"Hold on a second," Katsura said suddenly. "Don't go after them, Sakamoto."

Sakamoto looked confused. "Huh? But why not, Zura?"

"It's not Zura, it's Katsura," the samurai reminded him. "And I think we're better off if we stay behind. Your subordinate over there has it right. Something fishy is going on here, and Gintoki's rash judgement probably isn't the best plan of action."

Mutsu curiously glanced at him. "You agree with me?"

"Of course," Katsura told her. "You're the one who seems to have a good grasp on the situation at hand. Gintoki only ran off like that because he isn't thinking rationally right now. I'm afraid to say that there was probably no reasoning with him. That's just the way he is."

'So what should we do now?' asked Elizabeth through a sign.

"I say that we wait and watch what happens for now," Katsura told him. "We'll assess the situation from afar, and then come up with the best plan of action based on that."

"So wait," said Sakamoto, trying to follow along, "are we just going to let Kintoki go off and fall for the trap then?"

Mutsu gave a sigh. "You just heard your friend here, didn't you? If the idiot wants to go off and be an idiot, then by all means, we should let him."

"Er, that's not what I said," mumbled Katsura as a sweat drop slid down his forehead.

"Who cares?" asked Mutsu with a serious look in her eyes. "Whatever the case may be, he's on his own now."

Well, here's another delayed chapter of Silver Moon! I'm sorry that I can't seem to manage a consistent update schedule lately. I honestly have the time to work on the story, but I usually end up getting lazy and spending my time doing other things. I had some writer's block while writing this chapter too, so that didn't really do me any favors. But it's fine. I'm sure the story will come to me easier if I just work on it more often. All I can do is blame myself XD

All of this aside, it's time to reveal my eighth favorite Gintama character! Here it is:

Number 8: Okita Sogo

Does anybody care if I spell it Sogo instead of Sougo? It's just a personal preference honestly…I mean, it just looks more natural that way and- Oh! I'm supposed to be talking about his character?! Whoops! Okay, so what do I like about him? Well, for starters, I've always liked the outward appearance that he puts on. He always plays the sadist, usually acting like a jerk around those he doesn't like or care about. However, I can't help but feel like it's all just a ruse, and that his sadist persona is actually just his way of of showing feelings for the people he's genuinely attached to. I mean, sure, Hijikata and Kagura piss him off a lot, but he still cares about them at the end of the day. He just likes toying with them in a messed up way. Is that so wrong? XD I've always kind of seen him as a nice guy with a twisted way of hiding it. I think that sums him up pretty well. However, all of his emotions aside, Sogo is, plain and simple, a total badass! He ruthlessly cuts down his enemies with no remorse! Whenever he fights, you can guarantee that blood will fly everywhere! He's an insane killer in battle, and I just flat-out love that. I hope he kills plenty more people in the future XD

Anyways, that's about all I have to say about him. As for the chapter, please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on it! I'd really appreciate it! Next chapter will focus on Gintoki and Shinpachi, along with Sogo and Kagura! Please look forward to it! Until then!