Well, here we go. The promised Honeymoon Special. Naturally, it takes place in between Book 3 and Book 4. In a way, I guess it's kind of like my own "Slip Arc" XD Enjoy!

Silver Moon – Honeymoon Special Chapter 1

One Month After the Events in Book 3…

It had finally happened. After one long month of patiently waiting, both Tsukuyo and Gintoki had been released from the hospital. Their injuries from the fight against the Kiheitai had certainly taken their time to heal, especially for Tsukuyo, who had already been injured even before the fiasco.

But sure enough, Gintoki was released, and eventually, Tsukuyo was as well. They were now completely healed, and free to go where they pleased. Under normal circumstances, they probably would have went back to living out their daily lives. However, as with most married couples, they still had one thing left on their agenda after completing the wedding ceremony.

It was their honeymoon.

Tsukuyo sighed as she hesitantly packed clothes into a suitcase. "Gintoki…do we really have to go?"

Gintoki was busy doing the same, only at a much faster pace than her. "What do you mean 'do we really have to go?' Of course we do!"

Tsukuyo frowned. "But we just got released from the hospital…"

"So?" asked Gintoki. "I thought you were tough. You're not still crying in pain, are you?"

Tsukuyo glared at him. "No," she replied sharply.

"Then what's the problem?" asked Gintoki, throwing more stuff into his suitcase.

Tsukuyo sighed. "It's just…after sitting around for a month, it feels weird going on vacation right away…"

"It's not really a vacation, it's a honeymoon," Gintoki corrected her. "And you're only getting one so you really shouldn't try to blow it off."

Tsukuyo sighed again. "Yeah, but-"

"All right! Geez!" Gintoki complained, turning around to look at her. "Why do you have to keep sighing like that!? Don't you want to spend time alone with me!?"

"O-Of course I do!" Tsukuyo replied, sounding a little offended. "It's just that…well, I haven't been at work in so long…"

Gintoki just stared at her, and then shook his head. "Work? Really, work? You'd rather do that than go on a mini-vacation with your husband? Honestly, something must be wrong with you…"

Tsukuyo just crossed her arms and frowned. "Hmph, figuring that out now?" she taunted him. "It's too late, you've already married me."

"Yeah, and now I'm stuck with you…" said Gintoki, sounding a little deadbeat.

"You've got that right," Tsukuyo told him with a wink.

Gintoki just rolled his eyes before focusing on packing his bags once more. "Anyways, I know that you're a complete workaholic and that taking vacations isn't really your thing, but we're still going on this honeymoon."

Tsukuyo immediately frowned. "Do we really have to?"

"Yes, we do," Gintoki clarified. "Do I even need to remind you why?"

"Because we're married?" asked Tsukuyo.

"Oh, much more than that," said Gintoki. "First off, Hinowa already paid to send us on this trip, so we're not turning it down. Second, after spending all that time rooming with Sakamoto, the last thing I want to do right now is be around the usual loud idiots. And third, most importantly…"

Gintoki paused, and then stared right at Tsukuyo. "We still haven't properly celebrated our 'wedding night' together." This time, Gintoki crossed his arms. "Do I even need to remind you whose fault that was?"

Tsukuyo, slowly but surely, blushed a deep red. She soon looked away. "I-I said I was sorry," she stuttered.

Gintoki just shook his head as the two of them thought back to the night that they were married…

One Month Ago…

The door to Gintoki's room slammed open. There stood Tsukuyo, still donned in her white dress and dragging a dressed-up Gintoki behind her.

"All right," she said slowly with a smile. "Here we hic are."

Gintoki just stared up at her out of fear. Tsukuyo was clearly still drunk from the wedding ceremony, and he was honestly feeling a little terrified.

"Tsukuyo, h-honey…" he said nervously. "What are you going to do to me?"

Tsukuyo just grinned at him with flushed cheeks. "Don't play hic dumb with me, Gintoki…You know what this is about…"

"W-Well yeah, but um…are you really sure about this, dear?"

"What?" asked Tsukuyo bluntly. "I said I would hic marry you, didn't I?"

Gintoki started to sweat. "Well, yeah, but-"

"Get into bed," Tsukuyo interrupted him. Wasting no time, the bride hurled her husband onto the nearby futon. Gintoki grunted as he fell on his back.

"N-Now wait a second, honey!" Gintoki screamed. "I'm not really sure if I'm okay with things being like this!"

"Huh?" asked, Tsukuyo, standing overtop of him. "You'd rather have someone else…?"

"Yeah!" Gintoki retorted. "A much nicer Tsukuyo!"

Tsukuyo swayed a little bit, but soon glared at him. "You're hic looking at her…"

Gintoki simply panicked. "Ah, honey! Wait! I'm not okay with this! I mean, I know that we're married and all, but the way things stand, isn't this basically rape!?"

"You're hic fidgeting…too much…" said Tsukuyo slowly. "You need to…just…relax…"

Gintoki paused, and stared at his bride. "Huh? Tsukuyo?"

At that moment, Tsukuyo's eyes closed, and she fell forward, collapsing right onto Gintoki. The samurai grunted again as his body broke her fall.

Gintoki blinked a few times, wondering if this was real. "U-um…Tsukuyo?" he called.

It wasn't long before Tsukuyo started lightly snoring. She was completely passed out.

Gintoki just frowned. She's asleep he thought, staring up at the ceiling. Right on top of me…

Gintoki then heaved a sigh, and closed his eyes. "So much for our wedding night," he mumbled.

Back in the present, Gintoki continued to shake his head at the blushing Tsukuyo. "Anyways," he continued, "our honeymoon will be a great opportunity to fix that, so we're going. Case closed."

Tsukuyo just released one final sigh, this time in defeat. "Fine, we'll go."

"We'll go," said Gintoki, "and we'll have fun."

"And we'll have fun," Tsukuyo promised.

"Good," said Gintoki, finally finishing up his packing. He closed his suitcase with a smile. "Now let's make this honeymoon one to remember."

The next morning, the couple boarded a bus that took them to the outskirts of Edo. They arrived at a rather nice resort that sat near the beach. The sun was shining, the weather was hot, and the waves were calm.

"This place looks great!" said Gintoki with a smile.

"Yeah," said Tsukuyo, also looking around. She had never cared much for the beach, but seeing as she had already promised to have fun, she had no choice but to go along with it.

Gintoki soon picked up their bags and started heading for the nearby hotel. "Let's go ahead and check in."

The hotel was nothing too fancy. It had a pool in the back and direct access to the beach, which in the samurai's mind made the experience worthwhile enough.

"This is exciting," he said. "It's been forever since I last went to the beach."

"Mm-hmm," Tsukuyo mumbled, looking around the place.

Before long, Gintoki reached the front desk. He took a moment to set his bags down, and then addressed the receptionist.

"Hi, we'd like to check in for the-"

"Sakata party."

"Shinsengumi party."

Gintoki immediately paused. Was it just his imagination, or had someone else just said the exact same thing as him? And not only that, but that voice sounded awfully familiar…

Gintoki turned to the side. "Eh?"

Hijikata did the same. "Eh?"

Gintoki and Hijikata stared at each other in silence for a moment. In the background, Gintoki noticed that there were several other members of the Shinsengumi standing behind the vice-chief.

"Um, excuse me," Gintoki said slowly, "but what are you doing here?"

Hijikata scowled at him. "I could ask you the same."

"What's it look like?" Gintoki asked. "I'm checking in."

"So am I," Hijikata told him.

The two of them ended up glaring at each other. At this point, Tsukuyo came up behind Gintoki. "Is something wrong, Gintoki?"

"Yeah," he replied. "There's a mayo freak trying to ruin our honeymoon."

"Weird," said Hijikata, "because it looks to me like a lazy bum is trying to ruin our Shinsengumi retreat."

"Shinsengumi retreat?" repeated Tsukuyo. "Oh, is that why there's so many officers in here?"

"Oh hey, it's the Yorozuya!" somebody called out. Suddenly, Kondo stepped forward, accompanied by Sogo.

"Hey Boss," said the sadist.

"Are you checking in here too?" asked Kondo with a smile.

"Yeah," Gintoki explained slowly. He then pointed at Tsukuyo. "We're kind of on our…honeymoon…"

"Oh, really? Congratulations!" Kondo exclaimed. "Must be exciting!"

"Y-Yeah," Gintoki agreed. "Um…what are you guys doing here, exactly?"

"It's our Shinsengumi retreat," Sogo explained. "We take it every year."

"We are basically allowed time off to get some proper rest and relaxation," said Kondo. "It's like a collective vacation."

"So who protects the city in your absence?" asked Tsukuyo curiously.

"This year they let Isaburo and the Mimawarigumi do it. I'm sure they'll do a fine job," said Kondo confidently.

Gintoki took a moment to consider this. Um, is Edo really safe in their hands? he wondered doubtfully.

"So then…you guys are going to be staying here as well?" asked Tsukuyo.

"Yeah, it looks like we both chose to come at the same time! What a coincidence!"

"What kind of coincidence is this!?" Gintoki whined. "I wanted to get away from the usual crowd back home! Why do I have to spend my honeymoon with you tax-robbers!?"

"If you don't like it, you should leave," Hijikata suggested.

"Like hell I'm leaving!" Gintoki countered. "We got here first! You guys go somewhere else!"

"No way!" said Hijikata. "We've been planning this for months! You can leave!"

Gintoki and Hijikata ended up glaring at each other once more, until their respective cohorts came to cool the situation down.

"Come on Toshi," said Kondo. "This honeymoon is very special for them. We should be considerate and try not to be in their way."

"Calm down, Gintoki," said Tsukuyo. "These guys seem like a fine bunch. I doubt that they are going to be a problem. Besides, we might not even end up rooming near them."

Gintoki and Hijikata ended up sighing and looking away.

"Fine."

"Whatever."

At this point, the receptionist came back. "All right, I've got your room keys," she announced. "The Sakata party will have room 3-6."

"Okay," said Gintoki.

"And the Shinsengumi party will have rooms 3-1 through 3-5, along with 3-7 through 3-12."

"Like hell!" Gintoki yelled. "You've put us right in the middle of them! What kind of mean trick is this, huh!?"

"Is something the matter, sir?" the lady asked.

"Yeah, can we switch rooms!? Anywhere else is fine!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible," said the receptionist with a frown. "Your room was the last available one booked."

"I guess we're neighbors then, right Boss?" asked Sogo with a blank expression.

Once they were up in their room, Gintoki slammed the door, threw his luggage into the room, and fell onto the bed with his head in his hands.

"It's over," he moaned. "Our honeymoon is ruined…It's over…"

Tsukuyo just stared at him. "Aren't you being a little overdramatic? You look pathetic…"

"No, I'm not!" Gintoki retorted. "You haven't spent enough time with those idiots like I have! They're going to completely ruin this vacation for us!"

Tsukuyo just rolled her eyes as she calmly started unpacking her things. "What makes you say that? They seemed like they'd be willing to simply leave us alone."

"Like hell they will!" Gintoki shouted back. "That chief of a gorilla is a natural born stalker! We won't get any alone time with him around! The young sadist will probably try to find a way to kill us! And last but not least, the mayo freak will be there just to get in our way and keep us from having fun!"

"Why would they try to do that?" asked Tsukuyo. "Aren't they on vacation too?"

"This is just how they naturally behave! They're idiots, every last one of them!"

"I'm sure you're just overreacting…"

Suddenly, one of the walls exploded, and a cloud of dust shot everywhere. Gintoki and Tsukuyo quickly turned to look at it with surprised expressions. They could hear someone coughing on the other side. As the dust cleared, Gintoki noticed that there was now a perfectly round hole in the wall, and on the other side of it stood Sogo and Kondo.

Sogo simply waved a hand as he rested his bazooka on his shoulder. "Sorry about that, neighbors. We had a bazooka accident."

"Man," said Kondo, crossing his arms. "You can see right into their room now…"

Gintoki responded by angrily shoving his suitcase into the hole. Once it was plugged up, he turned back to Tsukuyo. "Do you see what I mean!?"

Tsukuyo felt a sweat drop slide down her forehead. "Yes, well…"

"A bazooka accident, Tsukuyo! Who has a bazooka accident in their hotel room!?"

Tsukuyo just sighed. "You may have a point about them, but still, there's no use in complaining about it."

Gintoki stressfully placed a hand on his head. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that getting upset won't make this vacation any better. Didn't we promise that we were going to have fun while we were here? Go make the most of it."

Gintoki took a deep breath before shaking his head. "You know what? You're right. I'm not going to let those idiots have more fun than me!"

Tsukuyo glared at him. "That's not the point I was trying to make…"

Gintoki suddenly tore his suitcase out of the wall and began rummaging through it. "Get dressed!" he told her. "We're going to the beach!"

Tsukuyo paused. "We are?"

"Of course we are!" Gintoki replied. "Do you think I'm going to have fun by myself like a complete loser!? I'm going to show them that I'm having plenty of fun along with my beautiful wife!"

Tsukuyo just crossed her arms. "Do I have a say in this?"

"You could say yes," Gintoki encouraged her.

Tsukuyo just sighed as she turned around. "Fine, but I'm going to have fun in a way that I see fit."

Before long, Gintoki had donned his swim trunks and ran out to the beach. Tsukuyo had put on a pair of shades and a white sundress that Hinowa had purchased for her before the trip. She felt a little uncomfortable wearing it, because she honestly thought it seemed rather "girly". Nevertheless, she still chose to wear it because Gintoki insisted it made her look good. Well, in front of his competition anyway…

Tsukuyo walked up to Gintoki just as he was setting up a spot for them on the beach. He quickly unfolded both beach chairs and a rather large umbrella before planting it in the sand. He then admired his work from a distance.

"Perfect," he said. He then glanced over just in time to see a large party of Shinsengumi officers walking out to the beach. "I doubt that they'll set up a spot better than this one!"

"I doubt they'll care," said Tsukuyo, sitting in one of the chairs. "Just like me."

"Tsukuyo, what should I do next to show them up?"

"Kill yourself," said Tsukuyo as she pulled a book out of their beach bag. "They'd certainly find it hard to top that."

Gintoki stared at the book in her hand. "What are you doing?"

"Reading," she replied bluntly.

"Aren't you going to help me with this?"

"Nope. If I'm going to be ignored, then I'm at least going to enjoy myself in peace. You should too instead of making a fuss about those guys."

Gintoki just frowned at this before crossing his arms and sitting down in the chair next to her. "Hmph," he grunted.

"Hey, Yorozuya!" Kondo suddenly called loudly. "Great day, huh? Enjoying yourselves?"

Gintoki just glared at him. "Yeah, before you guys showed up," he mumbled to himself.

"I hope it won't bother you if we set up over here!" Kondo continued. "We'll be doing our annual sandcastle-building contest! You'd be surprised at how many talented artists we have within our ranks!"

"I'm going to build a mayonnaise castle," said Hijikata.

"I'm going to build a bazooka," said Sogo.

"Anyways, have fun!" Kondo finished.

Gintoki just felt his eye twitch as his teeth grinded against each other. He immediately hopped to his feet.

"Going to build a sandcastle?" asked Tsukuyo without looking at him.

"Do I have a choice?" Gintoki shouted. "How can I not build one when they have attitudes like that!?"

"Do what you have to," said Tsukuyo, calmly flipping a page.

Tsukuyo chose to remain absorbed in her book for the next hour. Eventually, she looked up when Gintoki called for her attention.

"Well, honey, what do you think?" he yelled, gesturing to his creation.

Tsukuyo admired it from top to bottom. Her jaw soon dropped open and she lowered her shades to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. "What the hell…?"

Gintoki just smiled at his sculpture. There was nothing better than a strong cylindrical pillar in between two balls.

Tsukuyo was speechless. "Gintoki…what the hell is that supposed to be?"

"It's a Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon!" he announced proudly. "So tell me, what do you think?"

"I think I married a gay man," said Tsukuyo, cringing a little.

Gintoki placed a hand on the shaft. "Doesn't it have a rather high-quality finish?"

"Please don't touch it," Tsukuyo replied bluntly.

"And here's the best part," he said, too excited to notice her disgust. "See that thing over there?"

Tsukuyo looked where he was pointing to see Hijikata standing in front of a giant sandcastle he had crafted himself. He looked rather proud of the fact that the pillars in the walls had been shaped to look like mayonnaise bottles.

"I see it," said Tsukuyo.

"Well, watch this, said Gintoki, pulling a rope.

Suddenly, Gintoki's sand cannon pointed directly at Hijikata's castle. It then fired a huge clump of sand out the shaft and nailed the castle walls. Hijikata's creation immediately exploded.

"It fires too!" said Gintoki with a grin.

"Hey, bastard!" Hijikata yelled. "What the hell was that!?"

Gintoki let out an obnoxious laugh. "Aw, what's the matter, Hijikata-kun? Is your crappy sand castle too fragile?"

Suddenly, something hit Gintoki's cannon, and it soon exploded as well. Gintoki looked horrified as sand fell all around him. "Ah! What the hell!?"

"Sorry Boss," said Sogo nonchalantly. He then lifted what appeared to be a sand bazooka and rested it on his shoulder. "This thing has terrible aim."

"Yeah right!" Gintoki yelled back. "You did that on purpose! Just like back at the hotel room!"

Tsukuyo just sighed as they all started arguing, with Gintoki and Hijikata being the loudest. Shaking her head, she decided that things were getting a little too noisy for her liking. She soon rose to her feet and decided to go swimming for a bit. She figured it would be good exercise.

Tsukuyo slipped out of her sundress to reveal her black bikini underneath. She also tossed her shades aside, before walking up to her husband.

"Hey, Gintoki," she called while he was still yelling. "I'm going swimming."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," he said before looking at her and pausing. His mouth then fell open. Sometimes he forgot just how hot she looked, especially in that bathing suit.

"You okay, darling?" she asked.

"Y-yeah," he replied. "Go have fun, sweetie…"

Tsukuyo just shrugged as she walked out to the water. Meanwhile, Gintoki grinned, trying to think of the best way he could brag about his hot wife to all of these lonely Shinsengumi losers.

Tsukuyo relatively enjoyed her time swimming, relaxing in the calmness of the push and pull of the waves. She especially enjoyed getting some much needed exercise after spending so much time recuperating in the hospital.

However, her fun was only short lived, because as soon as she swam back to shore, Gintoki frantically approached her.

"Tsukuyo! You're back! Good! Listen, we're playing a volleyball match against those bastards and I need your help so we can destroy them!"

Tsukuyo just eyed him like he was a madman. "Gintoki…aren't you being a bit too obsessive with those guys? I mean, when we first came here, you wanted nothing to do with them. And now…well, you just can't seem to leave them alone."

Gintoki stared at her in silence for a while before heaving a sigh. He then gently took her hands with his own. "Tsukuyo…I would love nothing more than to beat the crap out of these idiots with you by my side…"

Tsukuyo nearly rolled her eyes. "Is that supposed to be romantic?"

Gintoki tried his best to adopt a sad Sadaharu expression. "Please help me…honey…"

Tsukuyo just sighed. "I really wish you'd just leave me out of these things…Where's the volleyball court?"

Gintoki's face immediately lit up when he heard that. "Right this way!"

Tsukuyo just smiled half-heartedly. If her husband actually wanted to spend time together with her, even if it was while doing something stupid, she figured she might as well accept the invitation. She let him lead her to a court nearby in the sand.

"All right, I brought our best player," said Gintoki, gesturing to Tsukuyo.

Hijikata crossed his arms. "I see. You need someone to carry the team for you?"

Gintoki frowned at that comment, but Kondo just laughed. "Well, great! Now we can have a 3 vs 3!" he announced.

Gintoki looked surprised. "3 vs 3?" he asked. "But our team doesn't have three players…It's just me and Tsukuyo…"

"So that's why you needed me," said Tsukuyo, scowling at her husband. "No one wanted to join your team?"

"Not a problem!" said Kondo with a smile. "Toshi, Sogo, and I will make the first team, and we'll let you borrow one of our men for your team."

"Yamazaki!" Hijikata yelled. "Get over here, you're on Team Lazy!"

Off to the side, Yamazaki was busy swinging his badminton racket through the air. He seemed completely oblivious to the entire volleyball situation.

Gintoki just shook his head as he watched this. "Um, can't we have someone less…plain, for our team?"

"Nope, he's yours," said Hijikata adamantly.

"Why can't we have someone else? Like Okita-kun?"

"Because he's with us. You can have Yamazaki."

"Hey, hey now…You're not trying to sabotage our team, are you?"

"Of course not," said Hijikata. "Yamazaki's a fine player."

"But just look at him!" said Gintoki, pointing at the badminton enthusiast. "He doesn't even know what sport this is!"

"Of course he does," replied Hijikata. "Hey, Yamazaki, come over here!"

Yamazaki just ignored him, and continued to swing his racket through the air.

"Yamazaki," Hijikata called. "Yamazaki!"

It was only a matter of time before Hijikata completely lost his patience and started running at him.

"Yamazakiiiii!"

"AH!"

After a short comedic chase scene, all the players had properly assembled on the court. Both teams took a moment to reign in their members for a short team discussion.

"All right, team," said Gintoki, calling them close. "Here's the plan. Our main target is going to be the mayo freak."

"Target?" asked Tsukuyo. "There are targets in this game?"

"When you play with these guys, there are. Now listen, I know that your heart is only half in this fight right now, Tsukuyo, but I want you to give it your all so we can flatten those guys. The same for you, Jimmy. Even though you're up against your comrades, I need you to give it your all too."

"Is this a pre-game discussion or a war speech?" asked Yamazaki skeptically.

"Look, the only thing that matters is that we win and Hijikata gets pissed off," said Gintoki seriously.

Tsukuyo just rolled her eyes. "Anything else we need to know?"

"Look out for Okita. He's a real sadist at heart."

"You know this is just a volleyball game, right Boss?" asked Yamazaki.

"Didn't you ever go to school, Jimmy? A sporting event is the best place to embarrass someone."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Yamazaki whined.

"I'm also confused," admitted Tsukuyo.

"Whatever!" Gintoki barked. "We play to win! The rest will just come naturally!"

Tsukuyo just stared at him before shrugging. Yamazaki simply walked away with a slightly irked look on his face. They soon took their positions on the field. Tsukuyo and Yamazaki took up the front, with Gintoki in the rear.

"Looking fierce today, Boss," said Sogo, also taking the back position for his team. "You seem pretty excited about this."

"He's just trying to impress his woman," said Kondo with a chuckle.

"Vice-Chief!" cried Yamazaki. "Do I really have to be on this team?"

"Are you trying to argue against a direct order?" asked Hijikata coldly. "I'll have you commit seppuku."

"Can we get started already?" asked Tsukuyo, crossing her arms.

"Of course, we'll serve first," said Hijikata, taking the volleyball.

"Hold on, why do you guys get to serve first!?" demanded Gintoki.

"Because we assembled our team first."

"What kind of rule is that!?"

"It shouldn't be a problem for you guys though, right?" asked Hijikata condescendingly. "Since you're such a good team, you don't mind us going first, right?"

Gintoki just clenched his teeth as he failed to think of a comeback.

"Sogo, here," said Hijikata tossing the ball. "You start."

"Right," said the sadist. The boy soon took the ball and rolled it around in his hands. Once he was satisfied, he threw it into the air before smacking it all the way across the court.

"I've got it!" yelled Gintoki, getting ready to knock it back up into the air. As the ball fell towards him though, Gintoki heard a small beeping noise.

"Eh?"

Just as the ball fell in front of him, it released a small explosion. Gintoki's hair was now standing up even spikier then normal, and he coughed out a puff of smoke. He quickly grew angry.

"There was a bomb attached to that thing!?"

"Was there?" asked Sogo innocently. "Whoops…"

"Looks like it's one to nothing," said Hijikata with a grin.

"That doesn't count!" replied Gintoki. "That's a foul!"

"But you didn't return the serve."

"How could I have!?"

"Now, now," said Kondo. "He has a point. Let's let them serve next."

Gintoki grinned a little, thankful that the gorilla was actually making sense for once! They soon retrieved a new volleyball (one that didn't have a bomb attached to it) and Gintoki prepared to serve.

"Tsukuyo! Jimmy!" he called. "I'm counting on you!"

Tsukuyo just sighed, knowing that he fully expected her to try her best. She decided to give it her all this game, at least for his sake.

Without wasting time, Gintoki served the ball to the Shinsengumi side. Sogo casually hit it over towards Kondo, who set it high into the air.

"Go, Toshi!"

Hijikata jumped up to meet the ball and immediately spiked it down right towards Yamazaki. The poor man quickly saw it coming. In a panic, he flailed around until the ball bounced hard off of his head. He soon collapsed as the ball flew straight back into the air.

Hijikata simply grinned, a little proud that he had successfully taken out one of their teammates. Losing a player would surely cripple their team, even if it was only Yamazaki taking the blow.

However, his happiness was relatively short-lived, as he soon watched Tsukuyo jump even higher than he just had. Once she was level with the ball, she shot him a small glare before spiking the ball with all her strength. The sheer amount of force placed on the volleyball made it appear as if it had caught fire while plummeting to the Shinsengumi side.

Before he could even register what was happening, the ball instantly nailed Hijikata right in the face, and actually knocked him unconscious. His vision faded to black as he fell down to the sand along with the ball…

And I guess that's where I'll end it for now. I didn't expect this chapter to be so long, but I kept having a hard time deciding where to end it. Honestly, this chapter feels like it's all over the place, but I had fun writing it. When I was thinking about Gintoki and Tsukuyo's honeymoon, I really wanted to insert some annoying characters that would ruin it for them. And since I wanted to insert the Shinsengumi more in my story, I thought: why not them? So, there you go. A Shinsengumi honeymoon.

When it comes to the wedding night flashback, that is actually how I originally imagined it playing out. I really wanted to include it in here for some funny clarification, so I hope you liked the truth of what really happened that night XD As always, I felt the need to make things as innocent as possible lol :)

I wonder if I made Gintoki seem too competitive? I just assumed that he gets a little crazy every time his rival-esque character is around. The same goes for Hijikata. Well the chapter wouldn't be nearly as comedic without this competitive nature, so I don't care.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and found it somewhat funny! Please feel free to leave a review and look forward to the next chapter! Next time, I'll try to wrap up the honeymoon special. See you then!