Silver Moon – Book 3 Chapter 20
After Gintoki, Kagura, and Mutsu had run out of the large room full of pipes, only six fighters were left behind. Shinpachi, Katsura, and Sakamoto all stepped forward to face their opponents.
"So we get to take on you three?" asked Bansai indifferently.
"I must say, they look rather fierce," Takechi noted.
"Ah, this is a waste of time!" Matako complained. "We should be going after the Shiroyasha! Not fighting this ragtag group!"
Sakamoto quickly felt like bursting into tears. "What, are we not good enough for you!? You'd rather go chasing Kintoki than fight us!?"
"Go chasing what!?" Matako growled. "For crying out loud, it's another pervert…"
"I'm not a pervert, I'm a feminist," Takechi corrected her.
"And it's not pervert, it's Katsura!" Katsura shouted at them.
"She wasn't even talking to you!" Shinpachi interjected. "What the hell's going on!? Didn't we come here to fight!?"
"Relax, Shinpachi, we're still going to fight," Katsura assured him. "But let's not be hasty. It's better if we let our opponents make the first move."
"Huh, why is that?" questioned the boy.
"Ah, well you see, Shinpachi, if we let them make the first move, then all we have to do is find a quick way to counter it, and then our opponents will be overwhelmed."
Shinpachi looked completely lost. "What are you talking about?"
"Not a bad strategy," Takechi commented from across the room. "But it will only work assuming that your opponent who makes the first move will not be prepared for a counter attack with their own counter attack for countering counter attacks."
Katsura turned to him. "A counter attack against a counter attack is unlikely but in the event of such an attack we will also prepare a second counter to the counter of our first counter of the original move."
"If that is the case," Takechi persisted, "then it would be in your enemy's best interest to refrain from making the first move in the first place, and open up the floor to their opponents."
"A risky technique," Katsura replied, "as our enemies' opponents which are also us may very well be planning to counter any counters used against our first move assuming we make the first move."
"Perhaps," said Takechi, "but we have full confidence that it would be best to let our opponents go first."
"So do we," Katsura responded. "So by all means, please come attack us."
"No, we insist, you attack us."
"It wouldn't be right since we are guests on this ship. You should get to go first."
"As our guests, we shall grant you the honor of striking first. Please, by all means."
"No, you strike first."
"No, I insist that you strike first."
"No, I-"
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Shinpachi shouted. "What's with all this talk of strategy!? We haven't even started fighting yet! And wasn't Takechi supposed to be my opponent!? Why are you arguing with him!? Geez! Sakamoto-san, would you please say something here!?"
Shinpachi looked over to see Sakamoto bent over on the floor, his butt raised into the air with a small dart sticking out of it.
"It seems my fight has already begun," he mumbled.
"Sakamoto-san!" Shinpachi cried. "Did you already lose!?"
Matako simply scoffed at the man on the floor before turning to her allies. "These guys are just a bunch of idiots. I don't even have to use any bullets on them; just a sleeping dart will do."
Takechi's eyes suddenly widened. "Ah, Matako-san, look out!"
Matako quickly turned back just in time to see a bullet fly right through her hand holding the dart gun. She dropped it instantly as blood spurted out of her fresh wound.
"Ah!" she shrieked. "What the hell-!?"
She looked up to see a smiling Sakamoto standing up straight and his eyes wide open. "Why isn't he asleep!?" she demanded.
"Ha ha, you let your guard down," Sakamoto replied. "You weren't prepared for my counter."
"So he was going for a counter this whole time!?" Shinpachi cried. "How did you withstand a sleep dart in your ass!?"
"Easy," Sakamoto replied, "I just faked falling asleep. You see, I wear this protective gear around my rear. It's kind of like a bullet-proof vest, except it's placed around your butt. I invented it myself!"
Shinpachi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why do you have something like that!?"
"Because," said Sakamoto with a smile, "getting shot in the butt hurts like hell! Ah ha, ah ha ha ha-"
"You think this is funny!?" Matako screamed back as she fired round after round out of her pistols. "I'll give you something to laugh at!"
"Ah, Sakamoto-san!" Shinpachi yelled as they took cover. "You didn't defeat her, you just pissed her off!"
"Really!?" asked Sakamoto, covering his head. "But why is she so angry? Is it that time of the month or something?"
"How the hell should I know!?" Shinpachi screamed back.
"RAAH!" Matako continued to scream as she fired shot after shot.
"Matako, look out!" Bansai suddenly shouted. The musician suddenly ran forward to push her out of the way as a blade slashed right through where she had been standing. Bansai quickly drew his own sword and met the blade head on.
"Damn," Katsura cursed, "and here I was hoping to get in a sneak attack."
"Nice try, but I've had my eyes on you the whole time," Bansai replied calmly.
Shinpachi quickly looked up. "Katsura-san has saved us! Quick Sakamoto-san, now is the time to move!"
"Right!" said Sakamoto, jumping to his feet.
The two of them quickly ran to catch up with Katsura. Meanwhile, Matako clenched her teeth out of frustration as she raised her gun at the man who had just tried to slice her up. "Damn you, Katsura!" she cursed.
Just then, Sakamoto fired another shot at Matako's weapon, once again knocking the gun out of her hand. "Ha ha, I stopped her again! Ah ha ha ha ha!"
Matako immediately turned to him with fire in her eyes. "That's the last damn straw," she muttered. "The loud guy with the big mouth goes first!" she declared angrily. She drew two more guns and began firing rapidly at the man as he dodged for cover once more.
Shinpachi on the other hand darted off to the side in order to avoid the bullets. He then focused on his target, Takechi, and drew his blade. Without hesitation, he closed the distance between them and swung. However, Takechi simply stepped to the side as the boy surprisingly flew past him.
"You guys aren't the only ones who can pull off a counter," he said quietly as he raised his sword.
"Crap!" Shinpachi muttered as he tried to dodge, but it was too late. Takechi went to bring his sword down, but suddenly, another blade came flying over and knocked the sword from Takechi's arms. Shinpachi looked past him to see Katsura standing there with his arms outstretched. Apparently, the patriot had just thrown his sword in order to save the boy.
"Be more careful, Shin-!"
Katsura's words were cut short as several strings flew around his body and pulled him backwards. Katsura looked back to see that the strings had apparently shot out of Bansai's shamisen, which he was now softly playing again.
"Don't run away, Katsura, just listen to the music," he told him.
"Katsura-san!" Shinpachi cried. "I have to get his sword back to him!" he said as he searched the floor for it. He quickly spotted it and darted for it as fast as he could. However, Takechi had also spotted it, and snatched it up along with his own blade.
"You're not getting this back so easily," he said.
Shinpachi just clenched his teeth in frustration. Now what was he supposed to do?
"Worry not!" Katsura suddenly shouted. The man suddenly dug his feet into the floor and stopped himself from being dragged by the strings. The strings continued to pull on him however, and he was soon bleeding from the cuts.
"You shouldn't struggle against them, Katsura," Bansai warned him. "You'll only get hurt."
"I don't care!" declared the samurai as he pulled against the strings with all his might. All of a sudden, Bansai was the one being dragged against his will.
"What the-!?"
Katsura continued to bleed from his new wounds, but by using a burst of strength, he managed to pull the musician down to the floor. Katsura then pulled him along as he started charging straight for Takechi.
Thinking quickly, Shinpachi came up with a plan. He jumped towards Takechi, who was currently distracted by all of the commotion, and swung at him. The strategist noticed at the last second, and managed to block. However, while this happened, Katsura suddenly jumped onto Takechi and put him in a choke hold. Shinpachi then went and cut the strings that were still attached to Katsura's flailing body. Katsura soon wrestled his sword back from the strategist and quickly let him go as he jumped back.
Shinpachi and Katsura then stood side by side as their opponents began to recover. Bansai got back on his feet while Takechi gently rubbed his neck.
"Are you all right Shinpachi?" Katsura asked.
Shinpachi nodded. "Yeah, but man, these guys are more clever than I thought…"
All of a sudden, the sound of approaching gunfire caught their attention. The duo both looked to their right only to see Sakamoto running at them at top speed. Behind him, Matako was firing an unending line of bullets at his feet. It was all Sakamoto could do to just barely keep running out of her line of fire.
"Help me!" he cried.
"Sakamoto-san!" Shinpachi yelled. "Don't come this way!"
Meanwhile, Kagura and Mutsu flew at Kamui and Abuto with their fists raised. Both girls came crashing down on the pipes below them as the two men dodged out of the way. The force of the impact left rather large dents in the pipes. The two girls then stood up and looked around.
"They disappeared," Kagura mumbled.
Mutsu turned her head. "Ah, Kagura, behind y-!"
But it was too late. As Kagura turned around, all she could see was Kamui's leg coming right for her face. The kick immediately sent her flying.
Mutsu just clenched her teeth as she went to go help the girl, but somebody snatched her arm. She turned around; it was Abuto.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked. "Let the Captain play with his sister a little."
Abuto then threw Mutsu into a pipe behind him. Mutsu coughed a little, but managed to land on her feet. So I was right she thought. They do want to split us up…but that's fine. I wanted to fight this one for a little bit anyway.
Mutsu quickly charged after Abuto and went for a punch, but the man jumped backward. He then darted behind a pipe as Mutsu chased him. She soon stopped however, as she had lost sight of him.
He's hiding again! Mutsu glared back and forth, only to have Abuto strike her from above. She winced in pain as she jumped away.
"Heh, these pipes are really good for hiding and maneuvering, don't you think?" asked Abuto with a smile.
Mutsu simply rubbed her head before grinning back at him. "Perhaps," she said, "but you're not the only one who can hide."
With that, Mutsu jumped up into the forest of pipes above her, and disappeared. Abuto just looked up for a second before smiling. "Hey, hey, are you serious? Is this really want you want?"
There was no reply. Abuto just continued to smile. "Fine, hide up there if you want. As for me, I'm going to go play with the Captain and his sister. I hope you're okay with that."
Abuto then turned around and started making his way back to where Kamui and Kagura were brawling. He glanced behind him, only to see that Mutsu refused to reveal herself. "Not taking the bait huh?" he mumbled. "Hmph, fine by me."
Meanwhile, Kagura was charging at Kamui head on. In return, Kamui met her blow for blow. If Kagura threw a punch, Kamui threw a punch. If Kagura threw a kick, Kamui threw a kick. Needless to say, it was starting to agitate the young girl.
"Grr, stop copying me!" she shouted.
Kamui just snickered. "Oh yeah? What are you going to do, tell on me?"
Kagura clenched her teeth as she went in for another punch. Naturally, Kamui followed her lead, and also went for a punch. However, this time, Kagura pulled her fist back at the last second, allowing Kamui a free hit right in her face. Kagura winced a little, but immediately went for her real attack: a kick from the side. It hit Kamui right in the torso, and he flinched a little out of surprise.
"Not so funny now, are you?" Kagura asked him. She soon went in for another punch, and this time it connected with his face. Kamui turned away as he brought his own arm up and elbowed Kagura right in the nose. Both siblings flew back from each other. But it was not long before they started fighting again.
Kagura went for a punch, but Kamui deflected it with his hand. He then jabbed her in the stomach, but Kagura recovered and delivered an uppercut to his jaw. Kamui responded by spinning in the air and aiming a kick at her. Kagura quickly brought her arms together to block it. As Kamui landed, Kagura pulled her fist back, ready to fire another punch. But then, out of nowhere, somebody grabbed and stopped her arm.
Kagura turned around, and there stood Abuto. "Not today, I'm afraid," he said quietly.
This immediately prompted an opportunity attack from Kamui, who wasted no time in properly kicking the girl in the side. Kagura flew away and slammed into a pipe.
"Ouch," she cried, holding her side. She then glanced around. Damn it, where did Mutsu go? Weren't we supposed to stick together or something?
"Looking for your friend?" asked Abuto. Kagura didn't respond, but just glared at him. "Didn't I tell you? She bailed on you just now. I tried to give her a proper fight, but she just decided to run off and hide."
"What? Mutsu wouldn't do that!" Kagura shouted.
"Then where is she?" taunted Kamui. "I thought that she had come here to fight too."
Kagura just clenched her teeth. She didn't know what to say.
Kamui then gave a sigh. "Well, it looks like she disappeared. What a shame. Two versus one is never any fun…"
"There's no point in putting it off though, right Captain?" asked Abuto.
"Right," Kamui agreed. "Let's just get this over with."
With that, Kamui and Abuto started running towards Kagura as she got back to her feet. She raised her fists in front of her, ready to defend, when a shadow behind her opponents caught her eye. It moved quickly, darting out from behind a pipe, and instantly locked onto Abuto.
Kagura soon caught on and ran forward while Mutsu revealed herself and ripped Abuto's mechanical arm right off of his body. It honestly happened so fast, that the rest of them barely registered what had happened.
"What the-!?" yelled Abuto, stunned.
Kamui just turned to look at him for a moment when Kagura tackled him with her shoulder. She then kicked her brother right into Abuto and they were both sent flying.
Mutsu landed on her feet, and then faced towards the men as she slowly lifted the arm up. "Nice trick you tried to pull there, but you should have never left me behind like that. Surely you knew that I would still be coming for you? Or did you honestly just underestimate me? Well, no matter, I still claimed the prize that I was aiming for."
Grabbing the mechanical arm with both hands, Mutsu promptly tore it into pieces. "I wonder how well you'll fair with only arm?" she said with a grin.
Abuto just looked up at her from the ground, and then glanced over to where his arm used to be attached. "Shit…"
"Ha ha, oh, no worries Abuto," said Kamui, unfazed. "We can always just get you a new one!"
Abuto frowned. "I wouldn't need to get a new one if someone hadn't ripped my actual arm off in the first place."
"I don't recall," said Kamui quickly.
"Of course you don't," said Abuto as he got back to his feet.
Meanwhile, Mutsu turned to Kagura, who was currently catching her breath. "Sorry for disappearing for a second there. Were you able to hold out while I was gone?"
"Yeah, it was no problem," said Kagura with a grin.
"Glad to hear- Look out!"
The two girls quickly took up defensive positions as Kamui and Abuto suddenly rushed at them. There was a flurry of punches and kicks from both sides before everyone suddenly scattered into the maze of pipes. This battle was going to be relentless…
Gintoki and Takasugi's blades met each other, and sparks flew everywhere. As Gintoki landed on the ground, he spun a full 360 before swinging his blade again in a wide arc. Takasugi merely held his blade vertically in order to block it. Takasugi then took his own blade and went to stab the samurai. In response, Gintoki deflected it with his own sword. Takasugi followed up with several more thrusts, but Gintoki quickly deflected them all.
Gintoki went for another horizontal slice, but Takasugi ducked underneath it. He then went to sweep Gintoki's legs out from underneath him, but the silver-haired samurai jumped at the last second. Gintoki went to bring his sword down vertically as Takasugi blocked horizontally. Once again, sparks flew in every direction as metal met metal.
"I see that you haven't lost your touch, Gintoki," Takasugi commented. "Or is this just the rage fighting back?"
"Shut up," Gintoki muttered. "You're going to pay for what you did."
Takasugi simply grinned before swinging at the samurai again. Gintoki took a step back in order to dodge. Takasugi persisted, however, and threw several more swings at the samurai. Gintoki kept moving backward in order to avoid, until Takasugi eventually went for a vertical slice. Gintoki sidestepped the blade as it flew down, and then quickly stepped on the blunt side of it, forcing it to the floor.
As soon as Gintoki felt the tip of the sword hit the ground, he stepped forward towards his opponent. He raised his sword with both hands.
"RAAAAHH!"
Takasugi quickly brought up the hilt of the sword and jabbed Gintoki in the chin. Gintoki faltered for a second, and Takasugi raised his sword from the floor. Gintoki quickly regained his composure and followed through with his attack, but Takasugi blocked it at the last second.
Gintoki then went ahead and kicked Takasugi right in the stomach, sending the man flying back on his feet. Takasugi simply clenched his teeth as he bore the pain. Gintoki was soon rushing after him again, and the two clashed blades over and over. As the swords continued to fly back and forth, the two combatants started fighting more recklessly.
Takasugi placed a small cut on Gintoki's arm.
Gintoki left a slash on Takasugi's shoulder.
Several more cuts appeared on Gintoki's arms and torso.
A deep cut opened up in Takasugi's side.
Takasugi clenched his teeth as he flinched. Gintoki brought his sword back and swung it at his opponent. Takasugi blocked it with his own blade before drawing in close and elbowing Gintoki in the face. As Gintoki stumbled, Takasugi brought his sword down hard on Gintoki's own blade, and knocked it from his hands. Gintoki was now defenseless.
Grinning wildly, Takasugi brought his sword back before thrusting it towards Gintoki's heart. Gintoki quickly came back to his senses and stopped the incoming blade by grabbing it with his bare hand. Using the momentum of the attack, Gintoki managed to wrench the weapon out of Takasugi's grasp and fling it behind him. Now both men were defenseless.
"AAAHHHH!" Gintoki yelled as he pulled his fist back.
"RAAAHHHH!" Takasugi replied as he did the same.
Both punches simultaneously connected with their opponent's face before sending them flying backwards…
Sogo and Elizabeth stood across from each other, heavily breathing with their weapons still drawn. It was clear that their battle had definitely been rather intense. They were still surrounded by Kiheitai terrorists on all sides, but their number had been reduced by at least half.
Suddenly, Sogo raised his sword up, and Elizabeth instinctively did the same. The young officer's eyes then glowed with bloodlust as he swiftly ran forward.
Elizabeth positioned his sword defensively and prepared for the oncoming attack. To his surprise, however, the attack never came. The bird simply watched the officer maneuver around him before eventually running towards the terrorists at his backside. Elizabeth glanced behind himself just in time to watch Sogo cut down several unprepared soldiers at once. They all fell to the floor with blood flying out of their wounds.
Sogo glanced back at the bird. "I'm done wasting my time with you," he told him. "I wasn't originally planning on fighting you here. In all honesty, I need to get a move on to my real destination."
Elizabeth remained silent and refrained from pulling out any signs.
"I don't care what you do next," Sogo continued. "You're free to go chasing after your friends if you want. As for me, I'm going to go after a much bigger prize than your measly criminal head."
This time, Elizabeth did hold up a sign. 'What are you aiming for, exactly?'
Sogo glanced at the sign before facing forward again. "Every terrorist on this ship," he mumbled with a small grin.
Without another word, Sogo cut down several more men in front of him and started forging a path through the crowd of enemies. Blood flew everywhere as the boy set to work and started running off to fulfill his real plans.
Elizabeth just watched him go before turning back and fighting the enemies right before him. As he fought, he lifted up a sign, more for himself than anyone else.
'What the hell is that kid planning?'
Ah, a chapter full of fights and action. I hope you enjoyed! And I hope you liked some of the comedy I threw in too! It wouldn't be a Gintama fight without a little comedy, right?
Well, I suppose it's about time we wrapped up my top ten characters, huh? Yeah, I think it is. Here we go! My number one favorite character in Gintama issssssss:
Number 1: Sakata Gintoki
Well, who could have seen this coming? XD But yeah, no surprise, my favorite character in Gintama is the main character himself, Gin-san. Well, what can I say about the man that hasn't already been said before? I honestly love the guy to death. He's funny, and really goofy, but serious when he needs to be. He presents himself as one of those characters that pretends not to care about anyone or anything, but you know deep down that they really do. I've come to love characters like that over the years…
As a protagonist to his own story, Gintoki truly symbolizes everything that the Gintama series is about. He really is the heart and soul of the show. The fact that his personality is rather widespread makes him able to adapt to any comedic situation that arises and he executes his performance flawlessly. He can be angry like an old man or lazy like a drunk or lecherous like a pervert. He really does have a lot of personality now that I think about it. He's never a boring character, is he? XD
And of course, there's his past. Man, while I was watching Gintama for the first time, the one thing that I was always dying to know more about was Gintoki's past. It was hinted at and teased so much over the series, I couldn't help but feel thrilled every time we got a taste of it. But now, after seeing how much of his backstory has been exposed, I can honestly say that Gintoki has one of the best backstories of any main character in anime and manga. It's sad, but heartfelt, yet depressing, while also hopeful. It's really just a big blend of emotions, which I guess is what Gintama has always been good at.
But yeah, I love Gintoki, and I think that he is an amazing and unique main character. And that's that! Thanks for tuning into my top ten if you did, and thanks for not judging me for it XD Anyways, I'm done here. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and look forward to the next one! Until then!