Silver Moon – Book 5 Chapter 12

Gintoki and Tsukuyo frantically ran through the streets of Edo, trying to make their way to the Terminal in order to catch Takasugi in time. While they ran, Tsukuyo was still trying to question their situation.

"Gintoki," she called. "Why are they at the Terminal?"

Gintoki just stared at her. "How am I supposed to know?"

"I don't know," said Tsukuyo with a frown. "You know Takasugi best. I thought maybe you would know what he's planning."

Gintoki went silent as he took a second to think about it. He stared at the clearly visible Terminal as he ran. Eventually, he just shrugged and said, "No idea."

Tsukuyo nervously stared at the building ahead. "I just can't make sense of it. If he's planning on riding a ship out of there, then I have to wonder why he wouldn't just use his own ship…"

"And why take Kyoko with him?" Gintoki wondered.

Tsukuyo went silent for a moment. She then turned to him once more. "Hey Gintoki, let's make a quick stop at home before we hurry to the Terminal."

Gintoki gave her a curious look. "Huh? Why?"

Tsukuyo pointed at the sky. "Look."

Gintoki stared upwards, and for the first time, noticed that the dark sky was slowly starting to brighten.

"It's already morning," Tsukuyo explained. "That means that we've been up all night, running around and fighting without any rest."

"I didn't even realize," Gintoki replied with a frown.

"I think we should make a quick stop at home, to eat something in order to replenish our energy. While there, I can restock my weapons too. Fortunately, our house will be on the way to the Terminal, so it should hardly cost us any time at all."

Gintoki took a moment to consider her words. Getting something to eat is a good idea, but time is against us. We have to hurry, so we'd only be able to grab something and eat it on the way. It might not help much, but still, after running around all night, it's better to replenish a little energy rather than completely run out. It'll also let us catch our breath for a minute, and it won't cost us much time…

"I like it," he said eventually. "You're pretty smart, you know that?"

"I just don't want you dying on me," she said seriously.

"Hmph, you're one to talk," he replied.

A few minutes later, Gintoki and Tsukuyo arrived at their house, and quickly set to work.

"Make it fast!" she told him as she ran into another room. "I'll grab my kunai!"

"I'll get some food!" he yelled as he ran to the fridge. Opening the door wide, he started grabbing anything edible and setting it aside. He frantically sorted through the foods, pulling only what they could carry. He then moved on to the sink, and began filling up several glasses of water.

A moment later, Tsukuyo ran into the kitchen. "I'm fully stocked," she said.

Gintoki shoved a glass of water towards her face. "Here, drink up."

Within seconds, Gintoki was tearing through the food he had set out. Anything he didn't eat within the next minute or so would either have to be carried along or left behind.

Tsukuyo watched him eat like a lunatic. "Be careful, Gintoki. If you eat too much at once, you'll feel sick."

"Don't worry," he said in between bites. "I'll just act like a standard Shonen Protagonist! Eating a lot of food will make me stronger!"

"Don't get carried away," she warned him as she also ate, but at a more reasonable pace.

A minute later, Gintoki and Tsukuyo downed the rest of the water they had prepared, and were immediately heading for the door.

"That was great!" said Gintoki with a smile. "We sure don't waste time, do we?"

"Not when Kyoko is in danger," she replied with a frown. "Come on, let's get back to the road."

Tsukuyo threw the door open and ran outside, but soon paused. She then stood still, surprised to find a small group of people waiting outside for them. Gintoki, following behind, nearly ran into her before he too came to a stop. He then stared at the group with a soft smile.

"What's the rush, Boss?" asked Sogo with a grin.

"We made it just in time!" said Shinpachi, panting slightly.

"We heard there was a missing child," said Hijikata, calmly lighting a cigarette. "Got any leads?"

"We're here to help!" yelled Kagura.

Gintoki and Tsukuyo stared at the four of them for a moment.

"You're all here? To help?" Tsukuyo questioned.

"Of course!" said Kagura.

"We heard that you guys were going to Takasugi's ship," Shinpachi explained. "We met with the Shinsengumi, and figured that we should head there to help back you guys up."

"But then we got a report from one of our patrol cars," said Sogo. "They said they recently saw you two running in the opposite direction, towards your house."

"We didn't really understand why," said Hijikata, "but we figured that we might as well meet up with you here."

"So what's going on?" asked Kagura. "Where's Kyoko? Have you found her yet?"

Hearing her daughter's name brought the sense of urgency back to Tsukuyo. She immediately clenched her teeth as she took off down the road. "Shit! We need to get going!"

"That's right!" said Gintoki, running after her. "Come on, we're going to the Terminal!"

"The Terminal?" asked Hijikata as he and the others suddenly started running alongside them.

"Why are we going there?" asked Shinpachi.

"We found out that that's where Takasugi is!" Gintoki explained. "And he has Kyoko with him!"

"Why is he there?" questioned Sogo.

"It's a mystery, but as long as we hurry, we should be able to catch him and get Kyoko back!"

The rest of the group went silent before each giving a nod.

"Sounds like a plan," said Kagura with confidence. "I won't let him get away again."

"Good," said Tsukuyo from the front. "I have a feeling we'll be needing all of your guys' help."

"It's true," said Gintoki with a frown. "Now that I think about it, Takasugi only left one of his top men back on his ship. We didn't see the rest of his subordinates. I can only assume that they're with him."

"Sounds like it's going to be a fight," said Hijikata as he placed a hand on his sword.

Gintoki glanced back at him for a moment, but didn't respond. By this point, everyone knew what they were getting into. Gintoki then stared at the sky once more, and noticed that it was significantly brighter. It was surely past sunrise already. Gintoki didn't know how much time they had left, but the sense of urgency only felt greater than before.

He then stared straight ahead, with determined eyes. Have to hurry…

Meanwhile, Takasugi was walking around inside of the Terminal, carrying Kyoko in his arms. He looked down at the child, only to find that she was still fast asleep. He slightly grinned before looking up once more.

Matako just gave him a weird look from behind. She then sighed as she looked around. "What are we even doing here anyway?"

"I'm testing something," Takasugi replied as he kept walking.

This made Matako give him an even more confused look. "You said something like that earlier…What exactly are you testing?"

"You'll see soon enough," he assured her without looking back.

Matako just frowned as she glanced around again. They were currently high up on one of the Terminal's floors, surrounded by regular people going about their business. "Are we supposed to be going somewhere specific?" she wondered out loud.

"Not particularly," said Takasugi with a shrug.

"Then why do we keep walking aimlessly around here?"

"It probably helps keep us from being noticed," Takechi chimed in. "If we stood still in one spot, people might recognize us. As long as we keep moving in this busy environment, no one should pay us any mind."

Matako stared at him before looking away. "I suppose…"

Just then, Kyoko started twisting around in Takasugi's arms. It wasn't long before she opened her mouth and started gently wailing.

"It would also help to go unnoticed since this child doesn't belong to us," Takechi continued as he listened to her cries. "Shinsuke-dono, it would be for the best if you calmed her down quickly. Otherwise, people may get suspicious."

Takasugi stared down at the fussing baby in his arms. "It's no big deal," he said calmly. "She's just upset. Perhaps she misses her parents."

Kyoko continued to cry as he held her. He simply grinned in response. "Don't worry, little Kyoko," he said in a soothing voice. "I'll be sure to take care of you."

Matako just winced as she stared at him and listened to the baby's cries. "Shinsuke-sama…are you really serious about adopting this kid?" she complained.

Just then, Takasugi suddenly stopped in his tracks and shushed Matako. Both she and Takechi also stopped behind him. They noticed that he was staring at the baby with a look of admiration.

"So it's true…" he whispered to himself.

Matako and Takechi just stared at him with curious looks. "What is?" asked Matako.

Takasugi soon turned around, and held the crying child out for them to clearly see. "Watch closely," he instructed them.

Takechi did as he was told and stared at the infant. Matako just gave Takasugi another weird look before shaking her head and complying. They both stared at the crying infant for a few seconds…

Suddenly, for just a brief moment, Kyoko glowed with a bright light.

Matako's and Takechi's eyes widened when they saw this. They could hardly believe what they were seeing. Apparently, the bright light in front of them was coming directly from the baby. For some reason, she was glowing. And then, as soon as it had started, it ended, and Kyoko went right back to normal.

Matako and Takechi continued to stare at the girl with surprised expressions, while Takasugi excitedly smiled to himself. "I knew it," he said, with some devious glee in his tone. "I had a feeling that this was the case."

Matako just stared up at him. "What the hell was that!?"

"You seem surprised," Takasugi noted.

"Of course! That kid just lit up for a second!"

"That was an odd phenomenon," added Takechi, agreeing with her.

In response, Takasugi brought the child back to his chest, where he gently began rocking her. "I told you that this child was special, didn't I?"

Matako clenched her teeth a little. "You might have said something like that…but seriously, Shinsuke-sama, tell us what's going on here! Why is that child glowing?"

Takasugi grinned once more. He was about to answer her, but he was soon interrupted by a loud beeping noise.

"Ah, I'm getting a report," said Takechi, reaching down and grabbing his communication device. He held it up to his ear and listened for a moment before turning to Takasugi. "Bad news, Shinsuke-dono. Our men just informed me that the Shiroyasha has arrived at the Terminal."

Takasugi looked curious. "Oh, Gintoki found his way here, did he?"

"He must have somehow found out that you brought his kid here," said Matako distastefully. "I knew that he'd be coming for it."

"It seems that he's brought some people along with him," Takechi continued before lowering his communication device. "What should we do?"

Takasugi frowned as he continued to attempt to quiet a fussing Kyoko. "I had a feeling that this might happen. Thankfully, I made sure to prepare ahead. Tell our men to assume positions and follow the plan. Make sure all of our allies are ready to go."

"All right," said Takechi, bringing his device back up and issuing commands.

Takasugi went back to looking at the infant in his arms. Gintoki did well to make it here…But let's see if he can manage to get what he came here for…

At that time, Gintoki and company ran through the main doors of the Terminal and into the first floor. Each of them started wildly glancing around as soon as they entered.

"Takasugi is supposed to be here?" Shinpachi asked again.

"That's what we were told," said Gintoki, looking back and forth.

"How are we supposed to find him in here?" asked Hijikata with a frown. "This building is enormous."

"Let's ask the front desk," said Tsukuyo, darting off. The rest soon followed behind her.

Tsukuyo ran up to the front desk and quickly found the nearest available employee. She soon slammed her hands down on the desk as she arrived, startling the employee a little. Tsukuyo started breathing heavily in order to catch her breath.

"Excuse me," she said in between breaths. "We're looking for someone. A strange man carrying a baby around with him. Black hair. Purple kimono. Do you know if anyone has seen him!?"

The poor woman working at the front desk just stared at Tsukuyo with a look of half confusion and half terror. "I…I have no idea…" she said quietly.

Tsukuyo clenched her teeth a little. "Well, somebody must have seen him! Hurry up and help! We desperately need to find this man!"

By this point, Tsukuyo was basically screaming at her, which only made the woman look even more terrified. "Mam…please calm down. You're scaring me…"

Tsukuyo simply snarled at her before turning away in frustration. "This is useless! We're not going to find any help here!" She soon stormed off away from the desk.

Gintoki watched her go before turning to the woman himself. "Er, sorry about that," he said before running after her. He knew that Tsukuyo didn't mean to snap at the employee like that. He knew that she was simply on-edge and nervous about getting Kyoko back safely. He soon caught up with her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Don't worry, Tsukuyo," he told her calmly. "We'll find them."

Tsukuyo just looked back at him for a moment before crossing her arms and looking away with a sad frown. "I hope so…"

Gintoki glanced around the room again. "The worst case scenario is that Takasugi got on a ship with Kyoko and left, but like we said earlier, it's unlikely since he has his own ship for that kind of stuff. We know that he's in the Terminal…but where?"

"Who knows?" said Sogo, also looking around. "We could search this place from top to bottom for hours, and even then we might not find him."

"Tsukky!" Kagura piped up. "Why don't you just use your maternal instincts to track Kyoko down?"

Shinpachi just stared at her. "Uh…I don't think it works like that, Kagura-chan…"

Hijikata turned to Gintoki. "Do you have any idea what Takasugi came here for?"

Gintoki shook his head. "No clue."

Hijikata turned away with a scowl. Gintoki decided to scan the room once more, hoping to find some kind of clue that could help narrow down Takasugi's location. The situation wasn't looking good. Even as he watched, several waves of people were traveling in different directions all at once. The Terminal was just too busy.

However, just then, something caught Gintoki's eye. A man was casually passing by the group with an umbrella at his side. A familiar looking umbrella…

Gintoki quickly reached out and grabbed the man by the arm. "Excuse me…" he said quietly, "but I couldn't help but notice that you're carrying around an umbrella, even though it's not raining today…"

The rest of Gintoki's group watched as he stopped the random passerby. The man in question kept his back turned to Gintoki for a moment, before suddenly whipping around with an insane grin on his face. He immediately threw a punch at Gintoki, who managed to draw his wooden sword and block it at the last second.

"I knew it," said Gintoki with a smile. "You're a Yato, right?"

The man didn't respond, but instead raised his umbrella so that it was pointing right in Gintoki's face. He grinned once more. However, before he even had a chance to unleash his fire, Kagura jumped at him from above, and nailed him hard on the head. The ruffian immediately collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious.

The others went silent as they watched this unexpected turn of events. "What the hell was that all about?" asked Hijikata.

"This guy works for Takasugi," Gintoki explained. "I was able to notice him thanks to this trademark weapon."

"What is he doing here?" asked Shinpachi.

"Takasugi must have stationed men around the Terminal," Tsukuyo suggested. "Perhaps they're here to serve as guards or watchmen in case something comes up. At the very least, this proves that the bastard is in the building for sure."

"That's crazy," said Kagura. "And to think that he was simply blending in with the crowd, too…"

Shinpachi suddenly looked up. "Uh oh…You don't think…that there might be more of them!?"

"It's certainly likely," said Tsukuyo, looking around the room.

Shinpachi frowned. "So that means…anyone in this room could be a potential enemy…"

"That's definitely an unsettling thought," Hijikata agreed. "They could possibly jump out and attack us anytime they wanted."

"Hmm," said Sogo, walking over to the freshly knocked out man. He soon crouched down near his body. "If it's true that they stationed multiple men in random locations throughout the Terminal, then that means that they must be getting their orders from somewhere…"

Sogo quickly scanned the body in front of him until he found what he was looking for. "Ah, here it is," he said, reaching down and removing a small ear piece. "Someone must be giving orders through this device," he explained. "I say that we use it for our own benefit."

"Smart thinking," said Gintoki as he watched the boy insert the device into his own ear. "Now we have a chance to learn where Takasugi's precise location is, and where he might be heading."

"We're still going to have a problem on our hands," said Tsukuyo. "What are we going to do about the hidden enemies in the crowd? They could end up being a huge obstacle if we can't identify who they are."

"You're right," said Gintoki, trying to think. "Determining who the enemy is and where they are will be quite a challenge."

"I have an idea!" said Kagura loudly. "Let's just avoid anyone carrying umbrellas with them!"

Gintoki gave her a soft smack on the back of her head. "I don't think it will be that simple."

"We need a way to flush the enemy out," said Hijikata, looking around. "Maybe we should try starting a commotion?"

Just then, a brilliant idea popped into Shinpachi's head. "Oh, I know what to do! Everyone, quickly, follow me!"

Everyone simply stared at the boy for a moment before running after him. Shinpachi weaved through the crowds and kept running until he eventually reached the wall on the far side. Once there, he glanced around for a little bit before spotting what he was looking for.

"Listen everyone!" he called out to them. "I think that the easiest way to accomplish our goals is to simply thin out the crowds!"

At that moment, Shinpachi finally reached the nearest emergency fire alarm switch on the wall. Without any hesitation, Shinpachi reached out and pulled it.

Instantly, a loud ringing noise echoed throughout the entire first floor of the Terminal. The crowds immediately stopped moving, looking around to see what was happening. It only took a few seconds for the situation to sink in, and soon the crowds began to panic slightly. The crowds quickly started heading for the nearest exits while an announcement was broadcast overhead.

"There is a fire within the Terminal! Please remain calm and carefully head for the nearest exit! Help will arrive soon!"

Shinpachi smiled as he listened to this and watched the crowds start to thin out. He then turned back to his comrades, who looked surprised that he had even done such a thing.

"Do you guys get it?" he asked them. "Now that the fire alarm is going off, everyone inside is going to evacuate. That means that only those that remain behind are the ones who are unafraid of fire…"

Gintoki grinned at him. "In other words, our enemies…This is perfect! Good job with the quick thinking!"

Shinpachi simply scratched the back of his head. "Heh, it was nothing…"

However, at that moment, Shinpachi noticed that Sogo and Hijikata were both approaching him.

"Indeed," said Sogo with a frown. "That was some quick thinking…"

"However," said Hijikata, "there is one problem with that…"

Shinpachi just stared at them both. "Uh…what's that?"

Suddenly, Hijikata grabbed Shinpachi by the shoulder and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him. "You're under arrest for setting off a false fire alarm," said Hijikata in the most serious tone possible.

Shinpachi's eyes widened as his jaw dropped. "Huuuh!?"

Sogo soon came up and grabbed the boy's other shoulder. "That's right, don't try anything funny, criminal."

"Criminal!?" Shinpachi exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"

"Yeah, yeah, enough of your excuses, criminal," said Hijikata, tightening the handcuffs. "You're coming with us."

Meanwhile, Gintoki and Kagura simply watched this little comedic skit unfold with blank stares. Eventually, they both turned to each other and sighed, resigning themselves to playing the straight man. Wasting no more time, Gintoki and Kagura jumped up and drop-kicked both Hijikata and Sogo respectively. They shouted in unison.

"QUIT FOOLING AROUND!"

Cool, I got another chapter done! And it didn't take that long either. Good for me. Things seem to be going smoothly. The plot now has a bit of mystery to it. Kyoko truly is special, heh heh…Anyway, things will probably be getting more hectic from here on out, so look forward to that.

In other news, there has been something that I need to announce, but I'm not really sure if I want to do it yet…So I've settled on simply providing a hint to what the announcement is. Sound like fun? Okay, here's the hint:

Silver Moon Book 1 and Silver Moon Book 5 start with the exact same paragraph. And there is a reason for that…

And that's it. Hmm, I already feel like I gave too much away with that hint, even though I'm trying to be cryptic XD Well, you can all make your own conclusions. I'm done for now. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and please look forward to the next one! I love you all. Until next time!