Silver Moon – Book 4 Chapter 1

3 Months After the Events in Book 3…

Tsukuyo suddenly awoke with a start. She blinked a few times before frowning and covering up her mouth with a hand.

Is it happening again? she wondered.

She looked at the clock. It was currently 5:30 in the morning, and it was still dark outside. Tsukuyo glanced at Gintoki for a second, who shifted around a little bit before getting comfortable again. The two of them were currently in bed together, inside of their new house which they had moved into after getting married.

Just then, Tsukuyo's stomach churned, and she clasped her mouth harder.

Oh shit, it is!

She immediately shot up out of bed and ran down the hallway to the bathroom. There, she fell to her knees in front of the toilet, and began to vomit. She grasped the edges of the bowl as her body forced her dinner from last night to come back out.

Suddenly, Tsukuyo paused as she felt a hand placed on her back. She looked over as best she could to see Gintoki staring at her with concern. She then went back to vomiting, as usual.

"There there," Gintoki said softly. "Let it all out."

Tsukuyo felt better knowing that he was there to comfort and support her. Before long, she overcame the sickness, and felt comfortable enough to back away from the toilet and take a few deep breaths.

Gintoki just watched her as he took the liberty of flushing the contents down the drain. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern in his tone.

Tsukuyo took a couple more breaths and placed a hand on her forehead before she replied. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Gintoki soon walked over and placed his own hand on her forehead. "What is this, like, the third time now?" he asked.

"Yeah," she responded.

"Hmph, no fever," he noted, removing his hand. "This isn't just a hangover, is it? Have you been drinking behind my back?"

"Of course not," she replied seriously.

"Right, sorry," he apologized, realizing Tsukuyo wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"I told you, I feel fine," she insisted. "That's how I always feel, but then…"

Tsukuyo went silent as she recalled the on-and-off sickness she had been experiencing the last few days. Most of the time, Tsukuyo would feel perfectly normal, but then, out of nowhere, she would be forced to run to the nearest toilet and puke her insides out. And then, after that, Tsukuyo would feel fine for the rest of the day. Or at least until the sickness struck again.

"Gintoki, should I be worried?" she asked. "This sickness doesn't make any sense…"

"Maybe," he replied, also sounding worried. "Should I call a doctor?"

"I don't know," she said as she stood up. "I…I think I'm okay for now. Let's just go back to bed."

Gintoki stared at her for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah…"

"All right," he agreed. "But if this keeps on happening…"

"I know," said Tsukuyo, nodding. "We'll see a doctor."

Gintoki smiled a little bit, happy that she wasn't being so stubborn for once. "Good."

The couple then made their way back into their bedroom, where they settled down once more. However, as Tsukuyo lay there, trying to fall asleep, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly was wrong with her.

I only hope it's nothing serious she thought with a frown.

Later that day, Tsukuyo found herself in Yoshiwara, at work with the Hyakka. Gintoki had suggested earlier that she should stay at home and get some rest for the day. Tsukuyo, however, continually insisted that she felt fine, and he eventually allowed her to go to work. This honestly made Tsukuyo feel better, as she rather enjoyed her job protecting Yoshiwara. Today, it was a calm, cool day in September, but the weather was sunny. The warm rays of the sun felt nice as she patrolled through the streets.

Naturally, as the day progressed, something of interest happened. Tsukuyo paused as soon as she heard the sound of glass shattering. She ran over and looked down a street just in time to see someone running away from a broken shop window.

"Stop! Thief!" the store keeper yelled.

Tsukuyo's eyes narrowed, knowing full well what she had to do. "Hyakka, let's go!" she yelled loudly in order to alert all of her warriors in the area. She then took off down the street after the burglar.

As they ran, it wasn't long before Tsukuyo started to catch up with the man. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Hyakka on either side of her, running along the rooftops. She gave them a slight nod, indicating that they should be ready to take action.

Tsukuyo then whipped out a kunai, and hurled it at the thief. It managed to hit him right in the shoulder, and the thief immediately stumbled. Just then, two members of the Hyakka swooped down from the rooftops, and forced the man to the ground. Before long, several other members of the Hyakka surrounded them, preventing escape. They executed their job flawlessly, just like always.

One the girls apprehended the stolen goods, while another tied the burglar up appropriately. "We've caught the criminal, Boss," said the girl, turning to face her leader. "What do you want us to-"

The girl looked over to find Tsukuyo in an alleyway, surprisingly vomiting into a trash can.

"BOSS!?" yelled the Hyakka simultaneously.

"What's she doing?"

"Is she okay?"

"She looks sick…"

Tsukuyo stopped vomiting for a moment, and began panting as she looked at them. "Don't worry about me," she said. "Just give me a minute and I'll be just f- Bleeeeehh"

Tsukuyo's words were cut short as she resumed vomiting.

"BOOOSSSSS!"

After that ordeal, Tsukuyo was forced by her subordinates to stay at Hinowa's place and rest. Despite the fact that Tsukuyo insisted she felt fine once more, the Hyakka were too concerned to allow her to continue working for the day. So now, Tsukuyo found herself in Hinowa's house, trying her best to relax.

"What's wrong with me?" Tsukuyo asked herself with a frown. "I've never experienced something like this before…"

Before long, Hinowa wheeled herself into the room, carrying a tray with two warm cups of tea in her lap. She soon handed Tsukuyo one of the cups. "Here," she said, "maybe this will help your stomach."

Tsukuyo took the drink and stared at it. "Thanks, but I'm not so sure. I don't even feel sick anymore."

"Hmm," mumbled Hinowa as she drank from her own tea. "It is rather odd, isn't it? Would you mind going over the symptoms for me again?"

"It's nothing really," Tsukuyo began. "It's just that in the past few days, I start feeling nauseous out of nowhere, which then leads to me vomiting. After I recover from that, I feel perfectly fine until it strikes again. I just can't figure it out…"

"I see," said Hinowa, considering all of this. After a moment, she smiled. "You know, I think I might know what's going on here."

"Really?" asked Tsukuyo, surprised.

"Yeah," said Hinowa with a laugh. "I've actually seen this sort of thing before."

"What?" asked Tsukuyo, sitting up straight. "So, you know what's wrong with me?"

"I have an idea," she replied slyly.

Tsukuyo frowned, and then took on a very grim look. "Be honest with me, Hinowa…am I going to die?"

Hinowa laughed again. "No, no, it's nothing like that. You don't always have to assume the worst."

Tsukuyo felt confused. "Then, what…?"

"Tsukuyo," said Hinowa, smiling, "let's go shopping."

"Shopping?" she repeated. "For what?"

"You'll see," said Hinowa with a wink. "Come on, I'll explain everything on the way."

The next thing Tsukuyo knew, she was inside of a pharmacy, holding a small box that Hinowa had handed her. Tsukuyo stared at it skeptically.

"Hinowa, you don't really think…"

Tsukuyo paused, and gulped, finding it hard to believe even the possibility of such a thing.

"You don't really think I'm…pregnant, do you?"

"It's certainly possible," the woman said with a smile. "The symptoms you listed earlier all seem to describe the general feeling of morning sickness."

Tsukuyo went back to staring at the box, which contained a pregnancy test. "But Hinowa, there's no way that I could be…"

"Why not?" asked the older woman. "You and Gin-san don't use protection, right?"

Tsukuyo blushed a little at this. "Well, no…"

"Then it's not impossible, is it?"

Tsukuyo felt lost trying to comprehend all of this, but what Hinowa was saying made sense. "Could I really be…?"

Hinowa pointed at the box in her hand. "Only one way to find out!"

Later, back at Hinowa's place, Tsukuyo had closed herself away in the bathroom while she took the test. As this happened, Hinowa was nearly sitting on the edge of her wheelchair, impatiently waiting for news. The suspense was honestly starting to get to her. Eventually, Tsukuyo opened the door and walked out with a dazed look on her face.

"Um, there's a plus," she said bluntly.

"So…" said Hinowa slowly, "it's positive?"

Tsukuyo looked back down at the stick in her hand to reconfirm it with her eyes. She then slowly gave a nod. "Yes, apparently…I'm pregnant."

Hinowa immediately squealed with delight. "Wow! No way! That's wonderful! Ooh, let me see the test!"

"You do realize I just peed on this, right?" asked Tsukuyo doubtfully.

"Let me see!" Hinowa insisted.

Tsukuyo handed it over only for the older woman to fawn over the little plus sign. She truly was excited to hear this shocking news.

Meanwhile, Tsukuyo looked down at her own body, finding it incredibly hard to believe that she was actually carrying another life inside of her right now.

"This is crazy," she mumbled. "I'm…pregnant…"

"Yes, you are!" Hinowa exclaimed, almost a little too excited for her own good. "You're going to be a mom!"

"I can't believe this," said Tsukuyo, still looking down. "I honestly never really imagined myself becoming a mother…"

"Oh, Tsukuyo! You're going to make such a great mom! I just know it!" Hinowa encouraged her.

"Really?" asked Tsukuyo, not really sure what to think.

"Of course!" she continued. "I guarantee you'll be able to show your child the love and devotion it needs. I think you're really going to like being a mom!"

"Yeah, I guess," Tsukuyo replied, still feeling rather dazed.

"Oh my gosh, you're going to have a baby!" Hinowa cheered once again with a smile. It almost seemed like she just liked hearing herself say it.

Meanwhile, Tsukuyo looked down at herself once more. A baby, huh? I'm going to have a baby? The Death God Courtesan…is going to be…a mother? This feels weird…

As Tsukuyo continued to dwell on this, the whole thought of motherhood started to become a little overwhelming. That is, until Hinowa called for her attention again.

"Oh, and of course, you're going to have to tell Gin-san the big news!" Hinowa pointed out.

"Gintoki?" Tsukuyo repeated, her eyes suddenly widening. She hadn't even thought about his role in any of this yet…

"Oh my goodness," said Hinowa, still excited, "you're going to be a mom, and Gin-san is going to be a dad! That's just wonderful!"

"I wonder what he's going to think about all of this," said Tsukuyo, feeling unsure.

Hinowa noticed the look on Tsukuyo's face, and smiled at her. "Oh, Tsukuyo, don't worry. I'm sure Gin-san will be very happy to hear the news."

"I'm not even sure how I feel about it, to be honest," Tsukuyo replied truthfully.

"Yes, well…I'm sure this must all come as a shock to you," said Hinowa, finally calming down and realizing Tsukuyo's nervousness. "Maybe you need some time to take it all in?"

Tsukuyo slowly nodded. She then instinctively reached down and put a hand on her stomach. Me and Gintoki…are going to be parents…What the hell is that going to be like? I can't even imagine it…

Hinowa gave Tsukuyo a few minutes to think before eventually addressing her again. "So, Tsukuyo, tell me something," she began softly. "How do you feel about all of this?"

Tsukuyo looked over to her. "Honestly, I feel kind of nervous about the whole thing…Despite what you just said, I'm not sure if I'm cut out to be a mother or anything like that…But, I guess I do have to admit that the thought of having a baby kind of makes me feel…"

Tsukuyo paused, then smiled. "Happy," she finished.

Hinowa smiled back, before reaching up and pulling the courtesan down into a hug. "I'm glad to hear that. Congratulations, Tsukuyo…"

"Thanks, Hinowa," Tsukuyo responded as she let her go. "I hope you know that these are just my first impressions though. I'm still kind of shocked by the whole thing. And…I think I'm going to be feeling pretty unsure about all of this until I can at least find out how Gintoki feels…"

"Of course, I completely understand," said Hinowa with a nod. "And listen Tsukuyo, even though I was never pregnant myself, I still have some experience with this sort of thing when it comes to others. So if you ever need advice or want to ask questions, you can always call me, okay?"

"Right," said Tsukuyo. "I know that I can always rely on you."

"Good," said Hinowa, smiling.

Tsukuyo returned her smile. Well, it's nice to know that somebody is really excited about this news. But still, I just can't help but wonder…

How is Gintoki going to react to this?

A good question indeed. Well, I'm back with Book 4, as promised! That was fast, huh? For my standards anyway XD It also doesn't hurt that the chapter was kind of short, so that's nice. By the way, is it just me, or have the last couple of Books started off featuring Tsukuyo and Hinowa scenes? XD

But anyways, here we are! Apparently some of you thought that this Book would focus on Gintoki and Tsukuyo's honeymoon, but nope! It's going to be about Gintoki and Tsukuyo having a baby. Yay! This is why I didn't provide a summary for this Book in the last chapter. I wanted to keep the pregnancy idea a secret until it was time to reveal it heheheheheh…

Anyways, here's the official teaser summary for Book 4:

Tsukuyo discovers that she is pregnant. The couple's friends are happy for them, but Gintoki and Tsukuyo are worried about becoming parents. To make matters worse, an assassin shows up and plans to take out everything he sees as a threat, including both Gintoki and his unborn child.

So that's where I'm going to plan on taking the story for the time being! I think I have some pretty cool ideas and concepts to include in this arc, so let's hope I do a good job! And I hope you'll enjoy it too!

I also have a fun announcement that I want to make, but I think I'll save it for the next chapter so I don't overwhelm you XD For now, please just feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and what you want to see from Book 4! That's it for now! Bye!