Silver Moon – Book 5 Chapter 7
Takasugi simply grinned at the surprised look on Kagura's face. "Oh, sorry, you weren't expecting me, were you?"
Kagura was caught completely off guard by his presence. She tried to take up a defensive position. "You!" she shouted. "What are you doing here!?"
Kagura suddenly paused. She had just felt something pierce her arm. She slowly looked down to find a thin needle sticking out of it. For some reason, she immediately felt her arm go numb.
She quickly pulled the needle out. "Wh-what is…this…?"
Kagura suddenly collapsed to the floor. Takasugi just watched her fall with a somewhat amused expression. "Oh good, it worked," he noted. "You never know what poisons will work and won't work on Yato."
Kagura's eyes widened as she felt her heart start to beat hard inside of her chest. She was still conscious as she lay on the floor, but she could no longer feel anything. The numbness had quickly spread from her arm to her entire body.
"You…you bastard," she said. "What did you do to me?"
"You're paralyzed," Takasugi explained. "Be thankful too. If it hadn't worked, it would have come to bloodshed."
Kagura tried her hardest to move any part of her body, but it was no use. Her arms and legs laid flat on the floor.
"Don't worry though," Takasugi continued. "I'm not here tonight to cause any harm to anyone."
Kagura glared up at him. "Why are you here then?" she asked rather fiercely.
"Scary," said Takasugi, noticing her glare. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Kagura. I'm just here to collect the child and leave."
Kagura's eyes widened even further as she froze amidst her struggle. "Wh-what did you just say…?"
"I'm here for the child," said Takasugi, casually strolling past Kagura and into the hall. "You know, Gintoki's child? If the information I received is correct, she should be here tonight."
"No," said Kagura quietly. "No, you wouldn't dare…"
Takasugi stared at her. "So the infant is here, I take it?"
"No!" Kagura shouted. "What do you want with Kyoko!?"
"Kyoko, so that's her name," said Takasugi, continuing his stroll through the house. "She must be this way."
"No, wait!" Kagura cried. "Stop! Come back!" Kagura immediately used her full strength in an attempt to move her limp body. Under the intense pressure of trying to protect Kyoko, she was actually able to move her hands and feet just a bit. Breathing heavily, Kagura dragged herself after him.
"COME BACK!"
"Ah, found her," said Takasugi from the living room.
Kagura was now desperately trying to drag herself at a furious pace. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!"
When Takasugi reappeared in front of her, he already had the sleeping infant cradled in his arms. He looked rather surprised to see Kagura there. "Oh, you managed to make it this far? Impressive, considering your position."
"LEAVE KYOKO ALONE YOU BASTARD!"
"Still though, it's a good thing I came when I did. If Gintoki were around for this, things would have been much more complicated."
Takasugi then paused as he took his first real good look at the child in his arms. His eyes sparkled at what they saw.
"So it's true," he said quietly. "It would appear that my hunch was correct. This child does indeed have great potential…"
Kagura glared at him from the floor. What is he talking about!? she wondered. And why is he taking Kyoko!? Oh, who cares! I just need to stop him! Kyoko needs me!
Kagura mustered her strength once more as she dragged herself towards her enemy. "TAKASUGIII!"
"Sorry, Kagura," he told her with a sympathetic look, "but I already have what I came here for. It looks like we'll be taking our leave now."
"LET KYOKO GO RIGHT NOW!"
Takasugi simply sidestepped her as he made his way back into the hall. "See ya later," he said with an evil grin.
Kagura somehow manage to ball her hands into fists out of frustration. She forced her eyes shut before reopening them and turning back around. She dragged herself along the ground as fast as she could.
"TAKASUGI YOU BASTAAARD!"
It was no use though. Takasugi was making his escape far too quickly for Kagura to catch up. As Kagura watched him head towards the exit with little Kyoko in his arms, she felt tears start to well up in her eyes.
Move! she told herself. MOVE DAMN IT!
Takasugi reached the front door.
Kyoko needs you, so go save her already!
Takasugi stepped outside.
Why won't you move, you stupid body!?
Takasugi turned around, and flashed her one final grin before shutting the door.
It was over. Kyoko was gone.
Kagura slammed her fists on the ground as hard as she could. Tears were now pouring out of her eyes.
"Damn it!" she cried. "Damn it damn it damn it!"
Kagura had never felt so frustrated with herself before. She could not believe what had just happened.
"Damn it…damn it…"
Kagura continued to slam her fists on the floor until the tears eventually overtook her. She was now holding her head in frustration as she bawled her eyes out.
Kyoko…I'm so sorry…
You…you deserved better from me. I should have been able to protect you. I should have been able to stop that bastard…
I…I promised Gin-chan and Tsukky that I would take good care of you…so why? Why am I so damn useless!? Why couldn't I keep you safe when it mattered the most!? Why!? Why!? WHY!?
Kagura lay there on the floor for a few minutes, simply crying and lamenting her own weakness. She felt absolutely terrible for what had just taken place.
Kyoko…you must be in real danger now…Kagura realized. Takasugi is always up to no good. You're definitely not safe with that evil bastard…
Kagura blinked a few times, trying to clear the tears out of her eyes. She then lifted her head off of the floor.
You need help…You really, really need help…
An idea quickly came to Kagura. She once again went back to dragging her body along the floor. This time, however, she went back towards the living room. It took her a while before she eventually reached her true destination: the desk. Once there, she took a few minutes to reach the phone with her limp limbs, but she soon had it in her grasp.
She immediately dialed the first number that came to mind.
Okita Sogo was quietly sitting in his room at Shinsengumi Headquarters. He was currently doing what he did most nights, which was watch TV while also thinking of ways to torture Hijikata throughout the week. For him, this was simply how he relaxed.
Maybe I could fill all of his cigarettes with mayonnaise he thought mindlessly as he munched on some popcorn. Then tell him I thought he would like it better that way…
Sogo then smiled a bit, amused with himself.
Suddenly, someone came knocking on his door. "Captain Okita!" they yelled. "You have a phone call, sir!"
This quickly caught Sogo's attention. He soon got up to answer the door. "A phone call?" he asked curiously. He didn't usually get too many of those.
"Yes sir!" the officer replied, holding out a mobile phone. "Someone called frantically asking to speak with you."
"Is that so?" he asked, slowly taking the phone.
The officer nodded. "It sounded like an upset girl…You wouldn't happen to be having women trouble, would you Captain?"
"Don't be stupid," Sogo replied as he slammed the door in his face. He then placed the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"
The other line was silent for a moment. "Sogo…?" the person asked, almost sounding afraid.
Sogo felt a bit confused. "Yes, this is him."
"Oh, good, it's really you! Listen, I need your help!"
Sogo paused for a moment. "Wait a second," he said. "China…?"
The other line went quiet again. "Yeah, it's me…"
This only made Sogo all the more confused and curious. "What are you doing calling me?" Sogo then paused again. "Wait, did you just call me Sogo?"
Kagura went quiet once more. "Yeah…"
Sogo smirked a bit. "Hmph, well that's new. What's that all about? Are you actually growing attached to me or something?"
"D-Don't be stupid, idiot!"
Sogo went silent as he listened to her. For some reason, she didn't sound angry with him, but almost scared and upset. Something was definitely off. "Hey, is something wrong?" he asked.
He could hear Kagura sniffing on the other end, an obvious sign that she had been crying. "Something really bad just happened over here!" she nearly wailed.
Sogo just stared at the phone, hardly believing that his rival would show such a vulnerable side of herself. Just what exactly was this all about?
"Is this some kind of joke?" he asked bluntly.
This time, Kagura did sound angry. "If you're not going to help me then I'll just hang up!"
Sogo smirked. "Now that's more like your usual self. Feisty and easily irked. You can calm down now, China. I'm willing to listen."
"You're a real jerk, you know that!?" she spat back. "I'm only doing this because I don't know who else to turn to!"
Sogo gave a sigh. "Fine, what's the trouble?"
"Gin-chan's daughter has been kidnapped!"
Sogo paused when he heard that. "She was?"
Kagura sniffed some more. "Yeah…I was supposed to be watching her but then she was stolen from right in front of me…"
"Why didn't you do anything to stop it from happening?" Sogo wondered.
"Don't you think I would if I could!?" she snapped. "It's complicated, but I can't move right now. Can you please just come over and help me out!?"
"You want me to come to your place?" he repeated, almost skeptical.
"Please!" she begged. "You're a cop, aren't you!? Please come help me out! I'm only asking for Kyoko's sake!"
Sogo frowned a bit. "You're really serious?"
"Yes!" Kagura insisted.
Sogo just sighed once more. "Fine, I'm on my way."
He could hear Kagura sniffing some more, and he assumed that she was probably trying to wipe away her tears. "Th-thanks, jerk…"
Sogo just rolled his eyes. "You'll owe me one for this," he told her before hanging up. He then shook his head a bit before adopting a determined expression. He grabbed his sword as he went to go change into his Shinsengumi uniform.
Kagura continued to sniff as she hung up the phone. She was just barely able to wipe away her tears with her paralyzed arms.
I can't believe it came to that she thought sadly. I really don't want to rely on that guy, but like I said, I really only did it for Kyoko's sake. It will be fine though. I know that he'll help. He always helps when things get serious…
Kagura then took a deep breath as she tried to calm down some more. The shock of having Kyoko kidnapped right in front of her still terrified her. She felt like she had let everyone down. Kyoko, Gintoki, Tsukuyo…
I don't want them to find out…Gin-chan and Tsukky will be so disappointed with me…I really don't want them to know!
Kagura then stared at the phone in front of her. Who else can I rely on? she wondered. Who else will help me?
The answer quickly came to her.
Shinpachi is the next best choice she decided. He'll understand. He'll help me out. I just need him to come over too.
Kagura slowly started dialing the number as she felt her eyes start to well up with tears again. As it started to ring, she slammed her fist on the floor.
This is all my fault!
Meanwhile, Gintoki and Tsukuyo were taking a second to catch their breath after having chased down a group of criminals. The criminals were currently all tied up and ready to be taken away. It wasn't long before a group of Hyakka came to collect them.
"Another crisis averted," said Tsukuyo proudly. She then smiled at Gintoki.
"R-right," he agreed between breaths.
Since arriving in Yoshiwara, Gintoki and Tsukuyo had managed to settle all sorts of criminal activity just by themselves. In the last few hours alone, they had stopped several petty thieves, discovered the location of a secret drug market, and even crushed a rising human-trafficking business. Naturally, Gintoki wondered if this all seemed a bit excessive.
"This is crazy! Does all of this stuff happen every day?" he asked his wife.
She shook her head. "No, but this does seem like more than the usual crime," she agreed. She then shrugged. "If I had to guess, there's probably an increase in criminal activity tonight since I called all the Hyakka away."
Gintoki stared at her. "Huh…?"
"Since all of the Hyakka are off duty, people feel more encouraged to commit crimes since it seems like there's no one around to stop them. It's a good thing we're here though."
Like hell it's a good thing! Gintoki cried in his head. Doesn't that mean that you're the reason crime has increased so much tonight!? If you hadn't called back the Hyakka, this stuff would have never happened!
Despite his inner complaints, Gintoki kept his thoughts to himself. He knew that Tsukuyo was enjoying herself tonight, and he didn't want to ruin her fun.
To his surprise, however, Tsukuyo soon gave a sigh. She then turned to him. "I've been having a lot of fun tonight, but honestly…I'm starting to miss Kyoko…"
Gintoki stared at her for a moment before nodding and smiling. "Me too," he agreed. "It's weird not having her around, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" Tsukuyo then stared at him. "Are you ready to go back?"
"Are you?" he asked.
Tsukuyo nodded. "Yeah, I've had enough fun for the night. Now I just want to get Kyoko and go home."
"I feel the same way," he told her. "Let's go pick her up then."
"Right," said Tsukuyo. She then turned to the Hyakka. "Thanks for everything. We'll be heading out now. Could you let the others know to retake their positions around the city?"
"Of course, Boss!" they replied.
"Good, keep Yoshiwara safe for me," she told them. She then turned back to Gintoki. "Let's get going."
Gintoki affectionately wrapped his arm around her. "I'd love to."
Tsukuyo leaned in a bit closer to him. "I love work, but I think I love my family more."
"I would hope so," Gintoki told her. "Kyoko and I need way more attention than this place does."
Tsukuyo smirked a bit. "I'll give Kyoko my love and attention. You can have whatever is left over."
"What the hell?" he complained. "I feel like I'm being replaced again!"
Tsukuyo just laughed at him before picking up the pace a bit. "Come on. Let's go get our daughter."
It wasn't long before Shinpachi and Sogo arrived at Odd Jobs. The two young men were rather surprised when they found Kagura on the floor. Shinpachi helped her out and managed to get her sitting up on the couch. The three of them then stood in silence for a moment, before Shinpachi started freaking out.
"Kagura-chan, you lost the baby!?" he exclaimed. "How!? How could you have lost Gin-san's child!?"
Kagura immediately felt a little hurt. "I didn't lose her! I told you, she was taken from me!"
"So what?" asked Shinpachi, honestly looking more worried than angry. "It was still under your watch! Why didn't you stop it from happening!?"
"I couldn't help it! I was paralyzed!"
"But still, Kagura-chan! Don't you understand how bad this situation is!?"
"Don't you think I feel bad enough about this already!?" Kagura shouted, tears now spilling out of her eyes once again. "Of course I wanted to protect Kyoko! I just…!"
Sogo soon sighed before speaking up. "All right, already. Enough bickering. It won't get us anywhere."
Shinpachi sighed too. "You're right, Okita-san. I'm sorry, Kagura-chan. I don't mean to beat you up about this…"
"It's okay," she said, sniffing a little. "I know it's just because you're as worried as I am right now…"
"Anyways," said Sogo, taking out a notepad, "why don't we go ahead and get this missing person report underway. China, go ahead and tell us everything that happened. You didn't give a lot of details on the phone."
Kagura nodded. She had only told each of them a few details in order to get them to come over before telling the whole story. She honestly didn't want to have to retell it though. Reliving it all over again would just be a painful experience for her.
"It was Takasugi," she said quietly. "He's the one that kidnapped Kyoko."
Both men seemed startled by this. "Takasugi!?" exclaimed Shinpachi. "He showed up here!?"
"This guy again?" asked Sogo with a frown. He started taking notes.
Kagura ended up telling them about the entire encounter. How Takasugi had shown up out of nowhere, paralyzed Kagura, took Kyoko and then simply left. Naturally, this entire story only shocked the men.
"But why would Takasugi take Gin-san's daughter?" Shinpachi wondered.
"I don't know," said Kagura, trying to think back. "I think he said something about Kyoko having 'great potential' or something…I wasn't really listening at the time, though. I was hell-bent on trying to get Kyoko away from him…"
"This is quite the interesting case," said Sogo, finishing up his notes. "Takasugi is apparently on the move again, but his goal this time involves stealing a child. And it just so happens to be the Boss's child, no less…Something is definitely going on behind the scenes here…"
Kagura just stared at him. "So…what do you think? Can you help us get Kyoko back?"
"I'll see what I can do," he said as he closed his eyes. "I don't know if I can promise anything though. Takasugi is one sly opponent. He always has been. I can have the Shinsengumi try to track him down and follow his movements, but I doubt it will be easy. And even if we do somehow find him, there's no guarantee that he'll still have the Boss's kid with him."
"Do you think she'll be okay?" asked Kagura, her eyes and tone full of worry.
"I don't know," Sogo replied honestly. "Takasugi is a dangerous guy. There's no telling what he has planned for the kid, but it's probably not good."
Kagura looked down. "Kyoko…"
Sogo stared at her for a moment before frowning and rising to his feet. "Like I said though, I'll take this information back to Kondo-san and see what I can do." He then turned to leave.
"I see," said Shinpachi. "Thank you, Okita-san."
Sogo soon paused in the doorway before turning back to Kagura. "Oh, and by the way, China," he called out to her.
Kagura soon looked up, a large frown still planted on her face.
Sogo smirked a bit. "Cheer up, would you? The Boss's kid is certainly tough, so she'll be fine. She's at least as strong as her father."
Kagura just stared at him, a little surprised by his words. He simply continued to smirk before facing forward again.
"That's what you told us a long time ago, right? Don't go back on your word now."
And with that, Sogo walked down the hall and exited the building. Kagura and Shinpachi just stared after him for a few seconds before Shinpachi sighed once more.
"I hate to tell you this, Kagura-chan, but we're going to have to tell Gin-san and Tsukuyo-san what happened here tonight."
Kagura immediately looked nervous and almost a little scared. She frowned some more. "I…I don't want to!"
Shinpachi gave her a sympathetic look. "I know, but we don't really have a choice. They're going to find out soon enough."
"I…I know, but-!" Kagura choked a bit. "They're going to be so disappointed with me…"
Shinpachi just frowned. He felt really bad for her. He soon got up and went to stand next to her. He then placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Kagura-chan. Trust me. Everything will turn out fine in the end…"
Poor Kagura. I feel bad for having to do this to you, but it feels like every Book, at least one person ends up drawing the short end of the stick, and this time it's you. Although, if I remember correctly, I've already been rather cruel to you before, haven't I? Well…sorry XD
So here we go then. Takasugi is off on some crazy scheme now, and poor Kyoko is likely in danger. Things will probably only get more tense from here on out, with scenes full of action and drama and stuff. Sounds exciting! I can't wait!
Well, that's all I have to say for now! Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and look forward to the next one! Next time: Gintoki and Tsukuyo return…See you then!