Silver Moon – Book 4 Chapter 2

That night, Tsukuyo walked home in silence, wondering how she was going to break the big news to her husband.

Should I just come out and say it right away? Or would that be too much of a surprise for him? He does have a tendency to overreact to things sometimes…I wonder if this news will be too much for him to handle…

But more importantly, how is he going to feel about it? Happy? Excited? Concerned? Nervous? Content? It's hard to say…

Before she knew it, Tsukuyo had already arrived at her home in Kabukicho. Frowning slightly, and heaving a sigh, she approached the front door. Well, here we go…

As Tsukuyo closed the door behind her, she announced her presence. "I'm home!" she called.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Gintoki called back.

Tsukuyo took off her jacket and hung it up before following the sound of Gintoki's voice. Upon arriving in the kitchen, she found him cooking what appeared to be a hot pot. "What are you up to?" she questioned.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile. "I'm making dinner. I figured I could try to make something to help settle your stomach, so I've been trying to add ingredients that will help with that."

"Oh, I see…" said Tsukuyo, hesitating at the mention of her sickness. Tell him now! she thought to herself.

"Go ahead and take a seat," said Gintoki, gesturing to the table. "It's almost ready."

"Okay," she complied, sitting down as instructed. "It, uh, smells good."

"I hope so," said Gintoki as he stirred the pot a bit. "I've been working on it ever since I got home."

"Well, that's nice of you," said Tsukuyo slowly. Tell him now!

"Of course, I just want to help you feel better," said Gintoki with a smile. He then took a moment to taste his broth. "All right, I think it's done."

The samurai then wasted no time in filling two bowls and bringing them over to the dinner table. He handed Tsukuyo her bowl before taking a seat across from her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, staring into the liquid with a dazed look.

Gintoki went ahead and started shoveling the food into his mouth. "So tell me, how was work today?"

Tsukuyo snapped out of her daze for a second and looked at Gintoki. She then looked away. "It was fine."

"Did you feel sick at all?"

"Well, just this once, earlier…"

Tsukuyo then shook her head and decided to stop beating around the bush. If she didn't tell him now, then she probably never would.

"Listen, Gintoki, there's, um, something I need to tell you," she began nervously.

He just stared at her. "Yeah?"

"Today, I uh, think I might have found out what's behind this sickness I've been experiencing…"

"Really?" asked Gintoki in-between spoons of food. "So what's the problem?"

"Well, it's not necessarily a problem," Tsukuyo stated. "It's just that, uh, I was with Hinowa today, and she felt that she had an idea of what was going on, so we, um, could you please stop eating for a second?"

Gintoki paused, and then stared at her like she was acting weird. Truth be told, Tsukuyo just didn't want Gintoki to end up choking when she revealed the news.

Tsukuyo then gave another sigh. "Listen, Gintoki, what I'm trying to tell you is that…I'm…I'm pregnant…"

Gintoki immediately froze, even though he wasn't moving to begin with. "Eh?" he muttered.

"I'm pregnant," Tsukuyo repeated clearly. She then placed a hand on her stomach as if to help emphasize the fact. "We're…going to have a baby."

Gintoki, still frozen, dropped his spoon. It fell on the table with a clatter. "Eh? What? Eh?"

Tsukuyo just stared at him with a small frown. Apparently it was taking longer for the news to sink in than she had originally thought. "I'm pregnant," she repeated once more.

The dumbstruck samurai just stared at her. "You're…pregnant…?"

Tsukuyo nodded. "Yes."

"Like…right now…?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"

Gintoki suddenly shot up out of his chair and slammed his hands on the table. "You're pregnant!?" In his haste however, he quickly lost his footing, and ended up falling backwards over his own chair.

"Ah, Gintoki!" Tsukuyo shouted, worried. She immediately got up and ran over to him. "Are you okay?"

Gintoki quickly tried to scramble to his feet as he looked at her. Eventually, he managed to get on his knees. "We're going to have a baby!?" he shouted, almost as if he needed confirmation.

Tsukuyo stared at him, and then smiled at his spastic behavior. "Yes, we are."

"What!?" he yelled in disbelief. "No way! No way! L-L-Let's just calm down f-f-for a second here!"

"I am calm," said Tsukuyo, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Upon feeling her touch, Gintoki quickly settled down, and his eyes fell on her stomach in front of his face. "Wow," he said quietly. "We're going to have a…That's just…Wow…"

"Are you okay?" she inquired again.

"I…don't know," he replied honestly. He then pointed at her stomach. "There's…really a baby in there? Are you sure?"

Tsukuyo nodded at him. "Yeah, Hinowa had me take a test today, and it came back positive," she explained. "I'm pregnant."

Gintoki had a look of amazement on his face after hearing this. "Wow…"

Tsukuyo couldn't help but smile at his expression. "So…tell me your thoughts. How do you feel about this?"

"How do I feel about having a baby?" he asked. He slowly smiled at Tsukuyo, before getting to his feet and pulling her into a hug. "It feels great."

"Really?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied cheerfully. "We're going to have a baby! This is amazing!"

"I'm glad to hear you say that," said Tsukuyo softly.

"I can't believe this," said Gintoki, looking down at Tsukuyo's body. "We're actually going to be a family now. The Sakata clan will grow by one!"

Gintoki then paused, and let go of Tsukuyo. In response, she stared at him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," he assured her. "It's just that…this feels kind of weird. I never thought that I would get so excited over hearing something like that. It's strange…The whole thing feels kind of…heartwarming, I guess. Am I sick?"

Tsukuyo couldn't help but smile once more at her husband. "No, you're not, because I feel it too," she replied honestly. "At least after having seen your reaction to the news, you big goof…"

Gintoki surprisingly found himself blushing a little as he scratched the back of his head. "Was I really acting that silly?"

Tsukuyo smirked at him before pulling him close again. "It's fine; I liked it."

"Hmph," said Gintoki, smiling back. "Have I ever told you that you broadcast news way better than Ketsuno Ana ever could?"

This time, Tsukuyo blushed a little. "Oh, Gintoki, stop…"

"It's true, you know…"

The two of them then shared a kiss, while the soup waiting behind them started to grow cold…

Later that night, as Gintoki prepared for bed, he found his wife doing something oddly unusual for someone like her. He watched her for a moment before crossing his arms and walking up behind her.

"Say, what are you doing?" he asked.

Tsukuyo flinched for a second, a little embarrassed. "What's it look like?" she asked. "I'm brushing my hair."

Gintoki raised an eyebrow at this. "Why? You never do that."

Tsukuyo shrugged. "Maybe I just felt like it."

Gintoki snickered a little. "What's the matter? Are you feeling like a mom already?"

Tsukuyo just rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I can do what I want."

"Oh come on, I was only joking," said Gintoki, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Whatever…"

"You know, I kind of like it when you do that. It makes your hair look nice."

Tsukuyo smiled at the complement. "Really?"

"Yeah, although, I never thought you cared much for looks…"

"Shut up."

Once Tsukuyo was finished, she and Gintoki settled down into bed, but they didn't go to sleep. They actually felt like staying up and talking for a while.

"So this is crazy, huh?" asked Gintoki. "We're going to be parents."

"Yeah," Tsukuyo agreed. "Won't that be something?"

Gintoki then frowned. "Oh man, it will probably be insane…"

Tsukuyo matched his expression. "You think?"

"Well yeah, think about it. Once the baby comes, we'll have to really take care of it. We'll have to get diapers and a crib and food and clothes and a good school and a college fund-"

"Isn't that a bit much?" asked Tsukuyo doubtfully. "Let's just focus on what we should do for now."

Gintoki took a second to calm down. "You're right. We should probably start by making a doctor's appointment. You know, just to make sure the baby is healthy and all…"

Tsukuyo nodded in agreement. "Yes, plus we could get some advice on what I should be doing to make sure that the baby stays healthy."

"Makes sense," said Gintoki. "Anything else?"

"Well, there is one thing, but you're probably not going to like it."

Gintoki gave her a curious look. "What?"

Tsukuyo sighed. "We'll have to tell all of our friends the exciting news."

Gintoki's expression immediately turned sour, just as Tsukuyo had expected. "Oh, right. That's just great. Those idiots are probably going to just freak out over it."

"You mean, kind of like you did, when I told you?" Tsukuyo asked playfully.

"Shut up."

Tsukuyo laughed a little at his sudden grumpiness. "Listen, let's just gather everyone up that you want to tell personally and we can share the news at Otose's place. The others can just spread the news for you after that."

Gintoki sighed. "Fine…"

Tsukuyo smiled, happy to hear his compliance. She then looked down at her stomach, before gently resting her hands on it. She was honestly feeling a whole lot better about this thing than she had been earlier that day. Perhaps it was just a result of the shock wearing off, or maybe it was her husband's surprisingly excited reaction to the news. Truth be told, both factors made her feel a lot better.

"So," Gintoki began casually, "tell me something. What's it feel like to be pregnant?"

Tsukuyo found this to be an odd question. "I don't know…The same as always, I guess?"

"Huh, weird," he said with a shrug.

"It is?" asked Tsukuyo with a sweat drop on her forehead.

Gintoki then reached over and let his hand hover over her stomach. "May I?" he asked.

"Go for it," Tsukuyo told him. "It's your kid too, you know."

Gintoki went ahead and gently rubbed her flat stomach. "Hello, little Sakata," he called softly. He then perked up a little. "Hey, do you think the baby likes to hear the sound of my voice?"

"Um, I'm not sure if the baby has any ears yet," Tsukuyo replied, not too well-informed on the developments being made in the womb.

"Ooh, I think the baby just kicked!" Gintoki exclaimed.

"I don't think the baby has legs yet either," said Tsukuyo doubtfully.

"No seriously, something just kicked in there!"

"I didn't feel anything…"

"It must have been the little Sakata!"

"Stop making stuff up!" Tsukuyo finally shouted at him. "Geez, you're acting just like an overexcited kid at the candy store. Calm down, would you?"

"Ooh, the candy store. Do you think the baby's going to like sweets?"

"How the hell should I know!?" Tsukuyo shouted, losing her temper again.

Gintoki looked a little frightened at this. "Oh, Tsukuyo, you shouldn't curse in front of the baby like that…"

"I already told you it can't hear us!"

"Please don't raise your voice, mommy…"

"Who're you calling mommy!?"

"You're scaring me mommy; also please don't get mad at daddy…"

Tsukuyo simply responded by throwing a pillow at her husband's face.

A few days later, Gintoki went ahead and gathered all the people he wanted to share the news with at Tsukuyo's request. He had them all get together at Otose's place as planned, telling them that he had to share some big news. When the time finally came around, Gintoki and Tsukuyo entered the bar to find everyone else already there. Shinpachi, Kagura, Otose, Tama, Catherine, Hasegawa, Katsura, and Elizabeth.

"Oh, they're finally here," Shinpachi noticed first. "Come on in, Gin-san, Tsukuyo-san."

"Yes, come in," Otose invited them. "We've all been sitting here waiting for you."

"What's this big news you mentioned?" asked Kagura, getting right to the point.

Gintoki froze upon being asked so suddenly. "Yes, well…"

"Getting a divorce already?" asked Catherine carelessly.

Hearing this quickly upset Gintoki. "What? No! Why would we do that!?"

"Well who could stand being married to you for this long?" she asked with a shrug.

"Shut up, idiot!" Gintoki retorted. "I don't even remember inviting you to this place!"

"I live and work here, stupid!"

"All right, all right, that's enough," said Otose loudly. "Sheesh. Now Gintoki, care to remind us why we're all here again?"

Gintoki soon went back to having a straight face. He then addressed the group as a whole. "Er, right, well, Tsukuyo and I actually…have some big news to tell you all…"

"You've already told us that," Kagura mumbled. "What's the news?"

Gintoki suddenly found it really hard to say aloud. Perhaps he was still worried about their overblown reactions. He quickly turned to his wife. "Um, do you want to say it, Tsukuyo?"

Tsukuyo just gave him a curious look. "Shouldn't you do it?" she asked. "These are your friends that you've gathered here after all. You tell them."

Gintoki just frowned at the fact that he was receiving no support from her.

"What's the matter?" asked Katsura, growing concerned. "Is it bad news?"

Gintoki stared at him. "Well, no, it's not bad. It's more like good news…"

"Than what is it?" asked Shinpachi.

Gintoki paused once more, only to be roughly shoved from behind by his wife. "Well? Go ahead and tell them," she ordered.

"Fine!" he yelled back. "Whatever! Tsukuyo is pregnant, okay? Sheesh!"

"There, now was that so hard?" asked Tsukuyo with a smile.

"Look who's talking!" Gintoki retorted. "I seem to remember you beating around the bush when you told me!"

"I was concerned for your safety," said Tsukuyo simply.

Meanwhile, the rest of the room had gone completely quiet, shocked at this news.

"Tsukky is…what?" asked Kagura.

Gintoki just turned to face them and nervously started scratching the back of his head. "She's pregnant," he clarified. "We're…going to have a baby together…"

It took a moment for the room to turn from surprise to excitement.

"Wow, really!?" asked Kagura with big eyes.

"Th-that's great!" shouted Shinpachi. "Congratulations, you two!"

"Tsk," whispered Catherine. "Just great. He's started breeding more of himself…"

"It's really happening!" Otose cheered with a big smile. "I'm…going to be a grandma!"

"That's some very big news indeed," noted Tama with a gentle smile.

"Ha ha, that's great to hear!" Hasegawa congratulated them.

"Gintoki," uttered Katsura, still mostly shocked. "You r-really…Wow…"

'Congrats,' read Elizabeth's sign.

Naturally, Gintoki and Tsukuyo felt a little overwhelmed by this overflow of excitement, which is mostly what Gintoki had been trying to avoid. But as the two of them stood there, the samurai couldn't help but admit, hearing the acceptance wasn't too bad.

Gintoki slowly put his arm around Tsukuyo, and then bowed his head as he closed his eyes. "Ha, thanks, everyone…"

Gintoki then paused, opened one eye, and noticed that no one was looking at him.

"Congrats Tsukky!" Kagura told the woman. "Is there really a baby in there?"

Tsukuyo nodded. "Yes, apparently."

"When's it due?" asked Otose rather excitedly.

"Not sure, we still need to see a doctor."

"Oh man, what do you think the kid will be like?" asked Shinpachi with a smile.

"I'll bet it will be strong, like its mom!" said Kagura, throwing a fist through the air to show her point.

"Maybe it will be funny, like its dad," said Hasegawa with a laugh.

"Maybe it will be a lazy good-for-nothing, like its dad…" Catherine mumbled.

Otose smirked at this and crossed her arms. "Let's just hope the kid takes after its mom's smarts."

Tsukuyo sincerely smiled at their comments, glad that everyone was reacting positively to the news. Gintoki, on the other hand, was upset that he was being ignored. Well, and the fact that he was they were talking bad about him.

"Hey, I'm not that lazy!" he shouted. He then paused as he felt someone lay a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Katsura standing there.

"Ha ha, congratulations Gintoki!" he told him happily. "You're going to be a father now, huh?"

Gintoki smiled, glad that one of his friends was willing to stand by his side. "Yes, that's right."

Katsura then laughed a little. "You know, I'll be honest, Gintoki. I never imagined that you would be the first one out of us old pals to get married, settle down and start a family."

Gintoki's smile faltered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know," said Katsura casually. "You never did have the best luck with women."

"Oh, and the rest of you did?" asked Gintoki, upset once more.

"Of course," said Katsura, nodding. "I myself was quite the looker back then."

"Right," said Gintoki, rolling his eyes. "So then, since you're such a 'ladies man', I take it that you and Ikumatsu are just rushing towards marriage?"

Katsura's mouth soon fell open as he blushed. "W-what are you talking about!?"

"Don't play dumb," Gintoki told him. "I noticed that you two got a lot closer after what happened in Yoshiwara, and also after the terrorist attack."

"S-so what?" Katsura asked defensively.

"So it's no secret that you two like each other. Hey, tell me something…"

Gintoki then leaned in close to Katsura's ear and whispered something. Katsura's face immediately turned even more red.

"I have not!" he shouted at the samurai.

Elizabeth suddenly popped up out of nowhere and held up a sign. 'He has.'

"Elizabeth!"

"Oh my, Zura," said Gintoki with a smug grin on his face. "Don't tell me that you were thinking about having children too?"

"What!? No! I mean…" Katsura then took a moment to cough into his fist. "Well…maybe someday…"

This time, Gintoki swung his arm around Katsura. "Listen up, Zura. You don't have forever, you know? You and Ikumatsu are getting older every day. Time's a wasting."

Katsura didn't know what to say. "Yes, well…"

"What are you waiting for? I'm telling you Zura, if you want to have a kid, you better get a move on. How old is Ikumatsu now anyway? Like 50?"

Katsura quickly lost his temper. "What!? Don't be ridiculous!"

"I'm just saying," said Gintoki with a shrug. "You may have a 'thing' for older women, Zura, but you have to pick the fruit while it's still ripe, you know?"

Katsura quickly brushed Gintoki off of him. "I've heard enough of your jokes!" he shouted angrily. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to go see Ikuma- I mean, go get some ramen!"

And with that, Katsura ran out of the shop, with Elizabeth soon following behind him. Gintoki just watched them leave. What an idiot he thought.

When Gintoki finally turned back to face the others, he surprisingly found Tsukuyo standing in front of him with a curious look.

"Gintoki, why are the others saying that our kid is going to look like another kid that was dropped off on your doorstep some time ago?"

Gintoki quickly felt confused. "Huh?"

Tsukuyo started to frown. "Apparently that kid looked a lot like you…and he was dropped off by his mother, telling you to take responsibility and raise him…"

Gintoki quickly started to sweat as he realized what she was talking about. "Ah, it's not what you think! I don't know what they've been saying, but that kid wasn't mine!"

"Oh really?" asked Tsukuyo, suddenly whipping out a photo. "He sure looks likes you."

"What the-!?" Gintoki quickly snatched the photo away only to look and see that it was indeed a picture of little Kanshichirou. "Where'd you even get this? Who took a picture of this kid!?"

"Care to explain?" asked Tsukuyo as she started to cross her arms, but suddenly paused. "Uh oh…" she mumbled.

Gintoki paused too, and stared at her. "Huh, what's wrong?"

"I think I need to…"

Gintoki grabbed her shoulder out of concern, which in retrospect was a big mistake. By doing so, he ended up holding her in place.

"Hey, are you all r-"

"Bleeeeeehhh…"

Gintoki froze as he felt the vomit fall over his footwear. "Ah…"

Meanwhile, the others just stared at them. "Oh my," said Shinpachi, concerned.

"What's wrong with Tsukky?" asked Kagura.

"It must be morning sickness," noted Tama. "I'll go get a mop."

Gintoki just stared at his wife as she clung onto him and started taking deep breaths. "Uh…Are you all right?" he asked hesitantly this time.

"Yeah," Tsukuyo panted. "Yeah, I think I'm f- Bleeeeehhh"

As Gintoki was hit by the second wave, he felt a sweat drop slide down his forehead.

"Um, I think that's our cue to leave…"

What's up with me lately? Releasing new chapters this soon? Something must be wrong. Oh well. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Specifically, Gintoki's reaction to the news XD

There was another part of the story that I was originally going to include in this chapter, but I decided to just push it to the next one. The problem with that is…well, the next chapter might end up being kind of short because it will solely focus on that one part…

So…for one time only…does anyone have any requests for short-stories or scenes they want to see? Seriously, this is a one-time thing only for next chapter XD It's up to you. If you have a request for something you want to see in the next chapter, let me know, and I'll consider it! If not, expect a short chapter, I guess XD

Aside from that, I have a fun announcement to make! Now that I've declared Tsukuyo pregnant, I want to start a poll on my profile! The poll will basically ask what gender you think the baby will be. Or maybe what gender you want it to be. I don't know, it's up to you XD I can tell you right now though that this won't affect the story outcome at all. It's just for fun.

So yeah, please consider stopping by really quick and voting! For fun! Please? Honestly, I'd probably just be happy if anyone votes at all XD But yeah, I think the results will be interesting to see!

Anyways, that's about all I have to say. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and please look forward to the next one! Leave a request if you have any! Also check out my poll! Thank you and goodbye!