Silver Moon – Book 5 Chapter 6

One month has passed since Kyoko has been brought into Gintoki and Tsukuyo's lives. For the couple, it had certainly been a long month, bringing with it plenty of new trials and challenges for them to face. Becoming new parents has never been easy, after all.

But they had done it. They had officially survived their first month in the war known as parenting, and they had even come out on top for the most part. Kyoko was a safe and happy baby, and her parents had done more than a good job when it came to taking care of her.

Needless to say, Gintoki and Tsukuyo were proud of themselves, and of each other as well.

"We've made it a whole month," said Gintoki one night after they had put Kyoko to sleep. "You did good, mom."

Tsukuyo smiled at him. "You did good too, dad."

Gintoki just smirked at this comment as he turned away. "I don't know if I like being called 'dad' all that much. It's starting to make me feel old."

"Oh really?" asked Tsukuyo. "Well, old or not, I still love you," she said, grabbing him by the chin and turning his face back towards her. She then placed a kiss on his lips.

Gintoki grinned a little. "Well now I feel a bit younger," he said, amused. "Say, how about we celebrate making it this far?"

"Celebrate?" repeated Tsukuyo. "What did you have in mind?"

"Listen, what do you say me and you get some alone time, just the two of us?" he suggested. "Let's take a break."

"What do you mean?" asked Tsukuyo, curious. "Like take a break from parenting?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "You know that there's plenty of people who are dying to get a chance to babysit Kyoko, right? Why don't we drop her off somewhere, and then go have some fun for a few hours, just the two of us?"

Tsukuyo stared at him for a moment before she ended up returning his smirk. "Oh, are you asking me out on date?"

Gintoki smiled a little bit before shrugging. "I don't know…Taking a beauty like you out on a date…I feel like that's asking too much for an old guy like myself. I come with some heavy baggage too, you know. I'm married and I even have a kid."

Tsukuyo snickered at his act. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind taking care of kids. I even talked to your wife; she said that she's fine with it."

"Really?" asked Gintoki, moving closer to her. "She usually never lets me do anything fun…"

Tsukuyo also moved a little closer. "Hey now, be careful what you say. Your wife might hear you."

"It's fine. She knows that I love her…"

Tsukuyo stared into his eyes. "What about me then?"

Gintoki returned the look. "I love you, too."

"Heh," said Tsukuyo, letting Gintoki affectionately return the kiss she had just given him.

The following night, Gintoki and Tsukuyo made arrangements for Kagura to babysit Kyoko for the first time ever. While the couple did have quite a few options when it came to babysitters, they knew that it would mean a lot to Kagura if she were allowed to do it first. Needless to say, the girl was very excited about it.

"What took you so long?" she asked when they arrived to drop Kyoko off. "Where's the baby!?"

"She's right here," said Gintoki, holding up her carrier. "How's come you're never this excited to see me?"

"Because I see you every day," Kagura replied bluntly. "Besides, you're nowhere near as adorable as Kyoko. I think she deserves all of my attention."

Gintoki just frowned as he stared at his daughter. "I feel like I'm being replaced."

"Come on!" said Kagura. "Bring her in already! I want to spend some time with her!"

Gintoki sighed as he decided to hold out the carrier. "Just take her already."

Kagura grinned at him before carefully taking the carrier into her own hands. She then carried the infant off into the living room. Gintoki just watched her go with a blank expression before turning to Tsukuyo. "Is it too late to let Tama babysit instead? She's much more calm and responsible."

Tsukuyo just smiled at him. "Don't be like that, Gintoki. Just look how happy Kagura is."

"I know. It's creeping me out."

"Oh really?" asked Tsukuyo, smirking before she took the liberty of walking inside. "I know that I've seen you act like that more than a few times yourself."

Gintoki blushed for a moment before following her inside. "Don't be stupid," he said.

When the two of them arrived in the living room, they found Kagura already sitting on the couch, simply adoring Kyoko with a smile on her face. Tsukuyo walked up to her with a bag in hand.

"Here, Kagura," she said. "This should be everything you need for the night. Bottles, diapers, some blankets, you should be all set."

"All right, Tsukky," said Kagura, taking the bag and setting it aside. "Thanks for letting me do this. I really like spending time with Kyoko!"

"Now hold on a second," said Gintoki, interrupting her. "This isn't all fun and games now. Babysitting is a job, you know. We're trusting you to do a good job tonight."

Kagura just stared at him. "I will."

Gintoki just ignored her. "That means calming her down when she cries and making sure she gets fed when she's hungry. But don't feed her too much or it will upset her. Also, make sure she goes to bed at a decent time, or else she'll get cranky. No rough-housing either. Kyoko's way too young for that. Keep an eye on her, and also keep Sadaharu away from her. Otherwise he might decide to eat her while you're not looking. You can watch some TV but only shows that are appropriate for her. Just feed her what we packed. That means don't feed her any egg-on-rice crap. If Zura knocks on the door, keep him away from Kyoko. Sakamoto too. Don't forget to-"

"All right already!" Kagura finally cut him off. "Are you done yet!? Sheesh!"

Gintoki crossed his arms. "If you can't follow the rules, then I don't know if we can trust you with our daughter."

"Oh, Gintoki, stop being such a moron," Tsukuyo scolded him. "We don't even follow half of those ridiculous rules ourselves."

Gintoki started to sweat a little as Kagura glared at him. "Well…that doesn't mean that Kagura shouldn't!"

"Stop worrying," said Tsukuyo. "Kagura will do just fine. We can trust her."

"Yeah, you can trust me!" Kagura agreed.

Gintoki just shook his head before sighing. "Fine, fine. I trust you too…"

"Yay!" Kagura cheered. "Did you hear that, Kyoko? Now we get to have fun tonight!"

"Just be safe!" Gintoki shouted at her. "Don't do anything dangerous, all right? And if you need any help, go get Gran downstairs, okay?"

Tsukuyo just grabbed Gintoki by the arm and started pulling him towards the exit. "We'll be gone for a few hours, Kagura. Take care of Kyoko until then."

"I will, Tsukky!" Kagura promised.

"Why is no one listening to me!?" Gintoki whined as he was pulled out of the room.

"Just come on," Tsukuyo told him. "Let's let Kagura have her fun, and we can go have our own fun."

This comment quickly captured Gintoki's attention. He decided to let Tsukuyo lead him out of the house. "Well, all right," he agreed.

Once they were outside, Tsukuyo went from pulling Gintoki's arm to comfortably leaning on it. Gintoki just smiled as he enjoyed her touch. The two of them started walking aimlessly down the street, no real destination in mind.

"Man, it's been a while since it's been just the two of us," said Gintoki.

"Yeah," agreed Tsukuyo. "But now we're all alone for a few hours."

"That's true," said Gintoki. "So tell me, what do you want to do tonight?"

"Well, there is something that I've been wanting to do for a while now," said Tsukuyo, smiling at him. "It's something that I haven't done in a long time…"

Gintoki stared at her, perplexed. He quickly smiled back. "Oh really?" he asked.

Tsukuyo slowly nodded. "Yeah..."

"Okay then," said Gintoki, agreeing. "Let's do it. Just the two of us."

"You sure?" asked Tsukuyo. "You don't even know what it is yet."

"Oh, I think I have an idea," said Gintoki, smugly winking at her. "Heh heh, now I'm getting excited. Let's go!"

Twenty minutes later, Gintoki and Tsukuyo stood side-by-side in the streets of Yoshiwara. Gintoki held his wooden sword in his hand, while Tsukuyo was armed to the teeth with kunai. She looked around excitedly.

"Man, it's been forever since I was able to hunt down criminals," she said, sounding eager.

Gintoki just stared at her with a big frown. This is what you were talking about!?

Tsukuyo called out to some of the Hyakka who were waiting nearby. "Hey, make sure you gather up the rest of the Hyakka and tell them to take a break for a few hours. Gintoki and I will be patrolling the streets by ourselves until then."

"Yes boss!" they replied.

"Huh? B-by ourselves?" mumbled Gintoki, hardly believing what he had gotten himself into.

"Of course," she said positively. "It will be just the two of us, alone, just like you said. This way, we'll get to see more action."

Gintoki just frowned. What kind of cruel joke is this!? This is definitely not what I was expecting tonight!

Tsukuyo gave him a wink. "Now I'm getting excited," she said.

What is wrong with you? Gintoki wondered hopelessly.

"Come on!" she called, suddenly taking off down the street. "Let's go look for crime!"

"Ah, Tsukuyo, wait!" Gintoki called before running after her. "Damn it! Seriously now, just what have I gotten myself into!?"

Tsukuyo ended up hopping onto a rooftop before stopping and scanning the city. Gintoki tried to catch his breath as he caught up behind her.

"Man, slow down," he panted. "Don't you think you're a little too eager to go out and fight people?"

Tsukuyo just ignored him as she smiled and took a deep breath of the night air. "I've missed this," she said. "I haven't been able to do this sort of thing since getting pregnant with Kyoko. I really am glad to be doing this again."

Gintoki just stared at her for a moment before releasing a sigh. Fine he thought. I didn't realize that this sort of thing would make her so happy. Well, I guess I could play along, for her sake…

He stood up straight. "Where to now, honey?" he asked seriously.

"Let's make some rounds first," she declared expertly. "Scout out the area, and look for any trouble."

"Very well," he agreed. "You take the lead, then."

Tsukuyo stared at him for a moment before smiling at him. She then leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. She then dived back down into the streets below.

Gintoki just stared after her, a little stunned. He soon smiled himself before jumping down after her.

Meanwhile, Kagura was having the time of her life simply adoring the infant that had been left in her care. Kagura loved all things cute and adorable, so naturally, getting to look after a baby was an absolute treat for her. This was also her first time ever being allowed to babysit, so Kagura made sure to take it very seriously. She kept her eyes on the baby at all times, and made sure that she stayed happy.

"Isn't this nice, Kyoko?" asked Kagura sweetly. "Getting to spend time with your auntie? Hee hee!"

Kyoko just stared at her with her violet eyes, and smiled a bit.

This made Kagura's face light up. "Aw, you're so sweet! Come here."

Kagura picked her up and held her in her arms. The baby continued to smile contently, much to Kagura's pleasure. "I'm glad your mommy and daddy let you come over here tonight. We don't get to see each other enough! When you get older, I at least hope that you'll know who I am!"

Kagura then dropped her voice to a whisper. "If you don't though, it won't be your fault. I already know that it will be Gin-chan's! He can barely be trusted to keep his two employees in line. How can he be trusted to raise a little angel like you?"

Suddenly, Kyoko's expression started to turn a little sour. She started to fuss in Kagura's embrace.

Kagura just stared at her. "Fussing? Someone must be hungry. Don't worry! I'm the same way!"

Reaching over, Kagura retrieved one of the bottles that Tsukuyo had prepared. She then offered it to the child.

"Here, Kyoko. Say 'ah'."

Kyoko accepted the bottle into her mouth and began sucking gratefully. Kagura smiled at this. "See? You just needed a little nourishment is all. Growing young girls like us need food to keep up our strength!"

Kyoko continued to drink until the bottle was eventually drained. Kagura stared at her, pleased.

"Good job! It looks like you know that you'll only grow up big and strong if you finish your meals!"

Kyoko merely hiccupped in response.

"Ah, right," said Kagura, nodding. "Now you need burped, correct? I'm pretty familiar with this part of the meal too."

Kagura proceeded to gently pat Kyoko on the back in an attempt to get all of the built-up gas out of her system. She did this until Kyoko appeared to be satisfied.

"There, feeling better?" Kagura asked the infant. "Auntie Kagura is able to take pretty good care of you, isn't she?"

Kyoko smiled slightly, showing her approval for a job well done.

"Heh, you're too kind," said Kagura, grinning.

Just then, someone started knocking on the front door. Kagura turned her head in the direction of the noise. "Now who could that be?" she wondered.

She decided to set Kyoko back in her carrier. "I'll be right back, Kyoko! Don't go anywhere!"

Kagura then proceeded to walk to the front door and open it. To her surprise, there stood Otose.

"Is it true?" Otose immediately asked. "Is she here?"

Kagura frowned a bit, immediately knowing what she was talking about. "Yes, Gran, Kyoko is here with me…"

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Otose demanded. "Move aside, let me see her!"

"Hey, wait a second!" Kagura shouted as Otose walked into the hall. "I'm babysitting Kyoko for the evening! Why are you barging in here!?"

"Because I never get to see her!" Otose replied as she walked further into the house. "Where is she? I want to hold her!"

"Hang on a second, Gran!" Kagura shouted, running after her. "Gin-chan and Tsukky trusted me to watch her for the night, not you!"

"I don't care!" Otose shouted. "Nobody brings Kyoko into this building without letting me get a chance to see her!"

By that point, Otose finally made it into the living room, where she laid eyes upon the baby. "Oh, there she is!" she immediately walked over and picked her up.

"Hey, Gran! This isn't fair! Go see Kyoko on your own time!"

"I'll leave in a minute!" Otose barked back. "Just let me hold my granddaughter for a little bit, would you!?"

Kagura just crossed her arms. "Tch, selfish grandma!"

By this point, Otose was ignoring her. Her attention was now completely focused on the baby in her arms. "Hi there, Kyoko. It's your grandma!"

Kyoko smiled at her, happy to see someone new giving her attention. This just made Kagura a little upset.

"My, my," said Otose, "you've gotten bigger than the last time I saw you. If only Gintoki would bring you around more often…"

Kagura just stared at a nearby clock, counting the seconds as they passed.

"You like to see me, don't you? Don't worry, as your grandma, I promise I'll spoil you every time we're together."

Kagura impatiently started drumming her fingers against her crossed arms. The seconds seemed to be passing by more slowly than before.

Otose gave Kyoko a big grin as she held her close. Kyoko smiled in return.

Eventually, Kagura turned on them. "Okay, Gran, that's enough! You can get going now!"

"Huh?" said Otose. "But it's hardly been a minute!"

"It's been long enough," Kagura declared. "You said you would leave, right?"

Otose just sighed in defeat. "Very well then…" She proceeded to gently put Kyoko back in her carrier before bidding a small farewell. "Next time, tell your dad to let me babysit, okay?"

Kyoko gave her one final smile. Otose simply returned it before she started walking towards the door.

Kagura watched her go with narrow eyes, not sure if she could trust her or not. Sure enough, the old lady ended up stopping in the hallway and turning around.

"Say, Kagura," she began slowly, "you wouldn't happen to need my help up here, would you?"

Kagura adamantly shook her head. "No, Kyoko and I were doing just fine before you came up."

"Really?" asked Otose. "Because, if you want, I could stay and help you take care of her…"

Kagura shook her head some more as she approached the old woman. "Nope, you can leave now."

"Are you sure?" asked Otose, starting to get a little desperate. "I can be a great help-"

Kagura soon started pushing the woman towards the exit. "Nope, I'm in charge here. I don't need your assistance."

"Kagura!" Otose pleaded. "Please let me stay!"

"No," said the girl.

"I'd even consider lowering the rent if you let me stay!"

"We probably wouldn't pay it anyway."

"Let me stay!"

"Sorry Gran," Kagura apologized as they reached the front door. "Tonight is for me and Kyoko only. You'll have to say goodbye now!" Without another word, Kagura pushed her out the door.

Otose quickly turned around. "Wait, Kagu-!"

Kagura swiftly shut the door, cutting her off. She then sighed before heading back to where Kyoko was waiting.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Kyoko," she told the infant. "You need to be careful about which idiots you let through the door. You also need to know how to handle idiots when you find yourself with them. You'll probably have it hard, since you have to live with Gin-chan and all."

Kyoko just gave her a blank stare, which made Kagura sigh and look away.

"Well, even if you find yourself surrounded by idiots, you'll be all right as long as you know how to have fun with them."

Kyoko's eyes started to droop a bit. She was starting to look tired. Kagura smiled at her.

"Feeling tired?" she asked. "Now that your tummy is full, it's only natural that you'd be feeling sleepy. Here, let me help you."

Kagura took the liberty of holding Kyoko in her arms once more. She then gently rocked the baby until she slowly drifted off to sleep. Once that was accomplished, Kagura decided to keep holding her for a little bit longer. She couldn't help but love the feeling of holding such a peaceful infant in her arms.

"Sweet dreams, Kyoko-chan," Kagura whispered to her. She then decided to move the baby to somewhere where she could sleep more peacefully. She quietly walked into her room (which had previously been Gintoki's), and ended up placing Kyoko down on top of a blanket covering her futon. Once she made sure that the baby was comfortable, Kagura made a silent exit. She made sure to leave the door open though, so she could keep an eye on her from the living room.

Once she was done, Kagura plopped down on the couch with a big grin. She was feeling quite pleased with herself.

Just then, Kagura heard someone start knocking on the front door again. This immediately made her frown. Damn it she cursed. Gran again!?

Wasting no time, Kagura walked to the front door. She immediately opened it with an angry hiss.

"Listen, Gran! I told you that I don't need you to-!"

Kagura suddenly froze. It was not Otose who was standing at her doorway. It was someone completely unexpected.

"Yo," said the person, lifting up a hand in greeting. "I heard that this is Gintoki's workplace. Must be true."

Kagura's eyes widened as she stared at the person. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. For there, at that moment, standing at her front door, was none other than the villain himself, Takasugi Shinsuke.

And that's where we're ending it. Heh heh, it sure is fun introducing villains out of nowhere. Since I've already kind of revealed some stuff in my teaser summary, you guys probably have an idea of where the story is heading. It makes me wonder if maybe I shouldn't have revealed so much…Hmm, probably not -.-' XD But then again, there's plenty of stuff that I'm keeping secret too, so it all balances out.

Well, anyway, things will probably only get rougher from here on out. I've brought back Takasugi, after all, and as we all know that's probably never a good sign. I really do like making him out to be the villain though. I wonder if I'll ever actually turn him into one of the protagonists like they did in Gintama. I mean, he's not all bad, right…? XD

Well, that's it for now. Please feel free to leave a review and please look forward to the next chapter! I'll see you then!