Silver Moon – Book 5 Chapter 11
A little while later, Gintoki and Tsukuyo had successfully managed to track down Takasugi's ship. It was sitting in an empty field on the outskirts of the city, just as the spy had informed them. Gintoki and Tsukuyo had both hid themselves once they had located it, and simply watched from afar.
"So this is his ship, huh?" asked Gintoki quietly.
Tsukuyo nodded. "It's right where that spy said it would be."
Gintoki watched as several men were loading boxes and supplies onto the ship. They definitely didn't seem to notice that they were being watched.
"The door is wide open," said Gintoki. "This could end up being a little easy for us."
"Or perhaps it's a trap, and they want us to go in that way," Tsukuyo mumbled.
Gintoki turned to his wife. "So what's the plan then?"
She turned to him. "How about this? I'll go find and recover Kyoko, and you can go murder Takasugi."
Gintoki grinned. "Not a bad plan. I'm in."
Tsukuyo kept a serious expression as she looked away. "Good."
"Would you like to take the lead?" Gintoki offered as he drew his wooden sword.
"Sure," said Tsukuyo, drawing a kunai.
Wasting no time, she hurled it at the nearest man carrying supplies up the loading ramp. It hit him straight in the back, and he soon yelped out in pain before falling over and dropping his supplies with a loud bang. The other men immediately turned to him with looks of confusion.
"Now," whispered Tsukuyo, jumping forward from her hiding spot. Gintoki followed right behind her.
The men, all their attention turned towards their fallen comrade, didn't notice the couple dash right behind them. One of them almost turned around but was instantly knocked out by Gintoki's weapon as he ran by. Gintoki and Tsukuyo successfully ran aboard without anyone noticing them.
From there, the couple ran through the halls of the ship, trying to avoid as many people as possible. They were only after two things after all, Kyoko and Takasugi. Dealing with anything else would just be a hindrance.
After taking several turns, Tsukuyo slowed to a halt, and Gintoki stopped beside her.
"What's up?" he asked.
"We need a sense of direction," said Tsukuyo, peering around the corner. She then pointed at a lone soldier wandering the halls. "There, that guy will do."
"I've got it," Gintoki offered. He immediately ran out and grabbed the man before he could even realize what happened. Gintoki then forced the man against the wall, and held his sword up to his throat.
"Hey there…" said Gintoki with a sly smile. "I hope you don't mind, but we need some directions…Care to give us a hand?"
The man nervously stared at the weapon being held against him, and also noticed that Gintoki wasn't alone as Tsukuyo walked to his side. "W-What do you want?" the man stuttered.
"Well…we're looking for a baby," said Gintoki quietly. "Let's see…she's about one month old, behaves like a perfect little angel most of the time, and looks like the most precious thing on the planet. Have you seen her?"
The man looked confused. "Huh? A baby? You're looking for a baby?"
"That's right," Gintoki nodded as he pressed his sword tighter against the man's throat. "We know she's here, so clue us in, would you?"
The man looked desperately confused. "Er, look, I don't know anything about a baby! Why would a baby even be on this ship!?"
Tsukuyo just crossed her arms as she shook her head. "You're asking the wrong questions, Gintoki." She then turned to the man herself. "We're looking for Takasugi. Where the hell is he?"
The man looked a bit more relieved, possibly because he was being asked something more straightforward. "Oh, Takasugi? Uh, well I don't know if he's here now, but he can usually be found on the top floor of the ship!"
"You're good at this, Tsukuyo," said Gintoki, staring at her in admiration. He then turned back to his captive. "The top floor, huh? Why don't you give us an escort then? Show us the way to the elevators!"
The man could only nod in agreement. "Uh, s-sure! Whatever you say!"
It wasn't long before all three of the them arrived at the top floor. They all stepped out of the elevator into the empty hallway before Gintoki decided to continue questioning his captive.
"So where exactly can we find Takasugi?"
"D-Down that hall, in the main room!" said the man, pointing in the direction.
"Great, thanks a lot," said Gintoki, looking down on him. "You've been a big help."
Suddenly, Gintoki took his wooden sword and slammed it against the back of the man's head. The impact instantly knocked the poor guy out cold.
"Consider yourself lucky that I decided not to kill you," said Gintoki with a sly grin.
Meanwhile, Tsukuyo was already taking off down the halls. "Let's hurry. Kyoko is probably nearby."
"Right," said Gintoki, following behind. It was only a matter of seconds before the two of them burst into their destination. The doors swung open wildly as the couple flew into the room, their eyes darting around for any sign of their missing child.
Unfortunately, their hopes were quickly dashed. The room was completely empty, save for one individual…
"Ah, Shiroyasha, you came," said Bansai quietly from across the room. He calmly eyed Gintoki and Tsukuyo as he strummed his instrument.
"Oh, it's the musician," noted Gintoki in a disappointed tone.
"Not what you expected?" asked Bansai.
Gintoki quickly glanced around the room once more. "Where's Takasugi?"
"And Kyoko!?" Tsukuyo demanded, drawing a kunai.
Bansai chose to remain silent, ignoring their questions. He simply continued playing his soft music.
"Damn it," Gintoki cursed. "This guy is useless! Let's just ignore him and go look elsewhere!"
Suddenly, Bansai stopped playing. He then paused before slowly advancing towards them. "Ah, sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to put a stop to that. Letting you two run loose could interfere with Shinsuke's plan."
Without warning, Bansai's shamisen shot strings out towards the couple. At the last second, Gintoki managed to push Tsukuyo out of the way, and all of the threads ended up attaching solely to him.
Tsukuyo was surprised. "Gintoki!"
Gintoki just grinned. "Looks like we're not getting off easy." He then turned to his wife. "Listen, Tsukuyo, you go on ahead. I'll hold him off."
Tsukuyo just stared at him. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, go find Kyoko. Meanwhile, I'll try to see if I can get some information out of this guy." Gintoki slowly drew his wooden sword. "Maybe getting violent will help…"
Tsukuyo continued to stare at him, but soon nodded. "I'll make it quick!" she promised, running towards a new hallway.
Bansai watched her flee from the scene, but found himself unable to do anything about it as Gintoki tightly grasped onto his strings, holding him in place. A moment later, Tsukuyo was gone.
"Ah, Shinsuke won't be pleased," said Bansai quietly. He then turned back to Gintoki. "It can't be helped, though. You two make a good team."
"That's what parenting is all about," said Gintoki as he swiftly cut himself free of the threads that bound him. He was soon moving freely.
Bansai drew his own blade. "At the very least, I can keep you occupied, Shiroyasha."
"You think?" asked Gintoki as he rushed forward, straight towards him. He thrust the tip of his sword into Bansai's face, but the musician managed to dodge at the last second.
Bansai attempted to swing horizontally, forcing Gintoki to jump back. As soon as he did, Bansai took the opportunity to send more strings forth. In order to escape, Gintoki made a mad dash for the right, avoiding the sharp threads. Gintoki quickly closed in, and attempted to swing his blade. However, Bansai managed to knock it away with his own weapon, before sending even more strings out of his instrument. Once again, Gintoki barely managed to dodge.
He won't let me get close to him Gintoki noticed with a frown. Every time I try to strike, he pushes me away with the sword, and then tries to catch me with the strings. I need to do something about that instrument…
Once more, Gintoki attempted to circle Bansai while slowly drawing closer. Bansai carefully watched his every move though, and made sure he was never out of sight. He did not attempt to make a move, patiently waiting for Gintoki to come to him.
Gintoki waited until he was at a point close to the wall beside him before he struck swiftly. Bansai was ready for it, and simply blocked before attempting to push Gintoki back. This time, Gintoki accepted the resistance, and let himself get forced back to the wall. He then grinned as he lifted his feet, planting them firmly on the surface of the wall before pushing off and bouncing right back. He flew over top of Bansai and used both hands to swing straight down. Bansai was caught off-guard, but still managed to block once more. Nevertheless, the weight of Gintoki's attack was almost too much for his one-handed weapon to handle, and he was stunned for a moment.
That's when Gintoki made his move. Doing a quick flip, he landed and spun back around in an instant. He thrust his sword straight for Bansai's samisen. Bansai tried to jump back, but he was too late. Gintoki's sword made contact with the neck of the instrument, and it consequently snapped in two.
Once this happened, both fighters paused for a moment. Bansai looked at what was left of his precious music maker. "That was rude," he told Gintoki with a frown.
Gintoki just gave him a smug grin. "Yeah, and kidnapping is illegal. Now, do you want to tell me where my kid is?"
Bansai stared at him as he slowly lowered the remaining pieces of his instrument to the floor. He then stood tall with a new stance. "I'll pass."
"I figured as much," said Gintoki, shrugging.
This time, Bansai rushed forward, using both hands to swing his blade horizontally. Gintoki jumped back, but received a small cut on his cheek. If he had taken even a fraction of a second longer to dodge, he could have been dealt a serious injury. Growing determined, Gintoki planted his feet firmly on the floor, and prepared to defend.
Immediately, Bansai was right back on top of him. He swiftly swung his sword, trying to attack from several different angles. Gintoki remained calm though, and managed to effectively block them all. Nevertheless, Bansai was relentless. With each attack, the force of his blows only grew stronger and heavier.
Gintoki clenched his teeth. I really don't have time to waste on this guy! I need to go find Tsukuyo and Kyoko, and if Takasugi is around, then I need to deal with him too! I can't afford to spend all my time here!
As the two swordsmen continued to trade blows, Gintoki suddenly swung with enough force to meet Bansai head on. There was a powerful collision, and both combatants ended up flying away from each other.
Gintoki took a deep breath before looking directly at his opponent. It shouldn't be an issue, though. I can handle this guy, no problem. I just need to make it quick!
Feeling determined, Gintoki decided to draw his second sword. He now held the wooden weapon in one hand, and the metal one in the other. He then slowly approached Bansai.
Bansai stared at him with caution before raising his own weapon up in defense. "I was wondering if that blade was for show."
"Dual-wielding was never really my specialty," said Gintoki with a frown. "But, I think this time, it will at least give me the edge over you."
"We'll see about that," said Bansai with a light grin.
Yes, you will thought Gintoki as he continued to approach. I'll make sure the next clash finishes this…
It started instantly. Gintoki lunged forward, using both blades to make the same horizontal slash in perfect synchronization. This made it easy for Bansai to block, but he still felt the weight of the two blows roughly hit against him. Gintoki continued to strike like this, and Bansai continued to block, blow for blow.
After a few clashes, the hits seemed to start taking a toll on Bansai's stamina. The strength of Gintoki's attacks was too much for him to continue blocking without slowly draining his energy in return. Gintoki noticed this, and quickly shifted tactics. Now Gintoki would swing with his metal sword, only to quickly follow with a thrust from his wooden sword. It was all Bansai could do just to block or dodge whatever was thrown at him.
I just need to keep overwhelming him Gintoki thought. It's only a matter of time until he can't keep up anymore!
Gintoki swung. Bansai blocked. Gintoki thrusted. Bansai dodged. Gintoki gave chase. Bansai was forced to defend. Within the furious rush of attacks being thrown, Bansai simply had no chance to strike back. He was fighting an uphill battle, and it wasn't looking good.
Gintoki went to thrust again, and this time, he barely scratched Bansai's clothes as he dodged. Gintoki decided to change tactics once more, going for another thrust right away with his wooden sword. Bansai quickly deflected the attack, but he couldn't prepare himself for yet another thrust. This time, the metal sword shot forward, and plunged itself into Bansai's arm.
The musician paused for a moment, wincing at the pain. This was all Gintoki needed. Without hesitating, he slammed his wooden sword straight into Bansai's side, knocking him off his feet.
He's finished Gintoki thought as he pounced one last time. Bansai fell to the floor and dropped his sword in the process. He struggled to reach for it as Gintoki swooped down upon him, swords at the ready…
Suddenly, a kunai flew forward, pinning Bansai's outstretched hand to the floor. His hand was now stuck in place, unable to reach his weapon. Gintoki noticed this movement at the last second, and paused before finally landing at Bansai's feet. He immediately stuck his sword right at Bansai's throat.
"Don't move," Gintoki ordered.
Bansai stared at him before smiling. "You got me."
Gintoki turned around, and sure enough, Tsukuyo was standing there, armed with kunai. "You're back already?" he asked with a frown.
She slowly nodded. "I searched the entire floor. No sign of Kyoko or Takasugi anywhere…"
Gintoki could hear the sadness in her voice. He kind of felt it too. The feeling of coming so close to reclaiming Kyoko, only to end up right back where they started.
Suddenly, Tsukuyo's expression looked panicked. "Gintoki, look out!"
Gintoki turned back to his hostage just in time to see Bansai sweeping his legs out from underneath him. Gintoki ended up losing his footing, and fell to his knees. Bansai immediately reached for his sword with his free hand.
"Shit!" Tsukuyo cursed, hurling a kunai.
Unfortunately, Bansai was fast enough, and able to block the incoming weapon. He quickly pulled his pinned hand free of the floor just as Gintoki lunged for him. Bansai expertly deflected it as he jumped backwards, swiftly landing on his feet. Gintoki also jumped to his feet, and Tsukuyo drew another kunai.
"Wait!" Bansai suddenly shouted. He held his hand out in defense. He then sighed before slowly sheathing his weapon. "I concede."
Gintoki and Tsukuyo paused as they watched him. They didn't know whether to believe him or not. Gintoki noticed out of the corner of his eye that Tsukuyo's hand was twitching, still ready to throw the kunai at a moment's notice.
"What do you mean you concede?" Tsukuyo demanded through clenched teeth.
Bansai reached for the wound on his arm, and attempted to stop the bleeding by holding it. He gave a small smile. "I feel like I've bought Shinsuke enough time."
Gintoki just stared at him. "What?"
Bansai returned the look by staring right at him. "Shinsuke isn't here, and neither is your child. I'm afraid you've just been wasting your time here." He then paused for a moment before looking away. "Shinsuke took your child to the Terminal. I'm sure if you hurry, you can find them there."
For the first time, Gintoki and Tsukuyo completely dropped their guards, if only for a moment.
"The Terminal?" repeated Gintoki.
"What are they doing there!?" demanded Tsukuyo.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that," said Bansai with a frown. "But if you truly want to reclaim your child, you should go there now."
After that, silence fell over the three of them. Gintoki and Tsukuyo turned to each other with wary looks. Eventually, Gintoki spoke up.
"How do we know that we can trust what you're saying?" he asked. "This could just be another time-waster."
Bansai was silent for a bit as he walked to a nearby drawer and retrieved some bandages. He slowly began bandaging his hand that had been pierced by a kunai. "I'm not lying," he said quietly. "To be honest, I actually feel kind of bad for you two."
Gintoki just stared at him. "Huh?"
"It's true," said Bansai. "I think it would be for the best if you get your baby back. Even though I understand what Shinsuke is trying to do, I see no reason to tear the poor child away from her parents. So just this once, I'll help you out."
Gintoki didn't know what to say. "You can't be serious…"
"Why not?" asked Bansai casually. "Even members of the Kiheitai can feel sympathy, you know…"
"But this…"
Bansai turned to him once more. "Listen, you'd better get going. If you spend any more time here, you won't make it to the Terminal in time."
Gintoki continued to stare at the musician, hardly believing this turn of events. Eventually, he was brought to his senses when Tsukuyo called his name.
"Gintoki!" she shouted. "Come on, let's get a move on!"
He turned to her, surprised, but soon nodded. "You're right, let's go."
Gintoki looked back at Bansai one last time. They stared at each other for a moment.
"Thanks," said Gintoki quietly.
Wasting no more time, the couple turned around, and started running back towards the ship's entrance. As soon as they left the room, Tsukuyo glanced at her husband.
"Well, do you think we can trust what he says? Will Kyoko really be at the Terminal with Takasugi?"
Gintoki glanced at her serious expression before looking forward again. "I'm not sure…but it's probably our best bet. I hate to admit it, but I don't think that guy back there was lying. I genuinely think he wanted to help us."
Tsukuyo frowned at him before facing forward as well. "My instincts told me to trust his words too. I just hope we don't regret it…"
Bansai silently watched the couple leave the room in a hurry. He then finished bandaging his hand to the best of his ability. Next, he moved on to the wound on his arm. As he set to work, he lightly smiled to himself.
"Sorry Shinsuke," he mumbled. "But I really can't go against their melody."
Well, I'm back, I guess XD Sorry for the 2-month wait! I got distracted and then had computer trouble…again…and then I was lazy and all the usual stuff. But it's okay, I know you'll all accept my apology! Oddly enough, this story has been getting a lot of views lately, even without an update. How does that work? Maybe it's because Gintama is said to be ending soon.
Yeah, it seems the end is near. Really near. I guess in a few weeks, the series that is Gintama will end. Damn…that's a real shame. I've seen this coming for a while now, and it still feels too soon. I just hope the author can wrap up all the loose plot points and end things the way he wants to. Hopefully, the conclusion is satisfying enough to prove itself worthy of this wonderful series. Let's all wish for the best! :)
I suppose the Gintama anime's days are now numbered as well. Who knows if it will even last the year before the series wraps up. Oh well, that's the way things have to be. I guess I'll go back to playing sad Gintama OST's while staring at the wall…
That's all for now. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, and please look forward to the next one! I hope you all have a wonderful day! I'll see you next time!