Silver Moon – Book 5 Chapter 15

Gintoki was currently facing Takasugi with a serious expression. Takasugi held Kyoko tightly in his arms, and made sure to keep Gintoki at a safe distance. A few feet away from him stood Takechi, who was watching the scene closely, ready to make a move if he needed to.

Gintoki's eyes soon fell on Kyoko. She was still crying as loud as she could, but Gintoki couldn't help but feel relieved to see her safe and unharmed. He didn't like that she was still within Takasugi's clutches, but he planned on fixing that soon.

"Papa is here, huh?" asked Takasugi, repeating the samurai's line from earlier. "Well isn't that comforting…" he said with a mocking smile.

"It's true," said Gintoki, slowly drawing his wooden sword. "I came to get my kid back."

Just then, something surprising happened. At the sound of Gintoki's voice, Kyoko immediately started to quiet down. Her loud wails soon became displeased grunts. Even her general expression seemed more content than it had been just a moment ago.

Gintoki smiled at this. "Heh, you know what I think?" he asked. "I think that Kyoko has spent more than enough time with her crazy uncle Takasugi, and that it's probably time for her to head back home and take a nap."

At this comment, Takasugi ended up matching Gintoki's smile. He even laughed a little. "Crazy? Come now, I'm not crazy."

Gintoki casually used his pinky to start picking around the inside of his ear. "Fine, you're bat-shit insane then."

Takasugi simply closed his eye as he shrugged this off. "That's harsh…"

"Yeah, yeah, enough talk," said Gintoki, giving Takasugi a blank stare. "Dude, just give me my kid back. My wife will end up killing us both if Kyoko isn't brought back home safe and sound."

Takasugi ended up laughing some more at this. "Really, Gintoki? Is that the best argument you've got? I'm afraid it will take more than that to convince me. I'm not giving the child up."

Gintoki stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and sighing. "Listen Takasugi, if you really want a kid that badly, then you should just go off and have your own. I mean, seriously, you really shouldn't be taking other people's kids like that." Gintoki raised his sword up a bit. "Especially when the kid has really protective parents."

Takasugi merely grinned as he looked away. "Forgive me, Gintoki, but I can't just hand Kyoko back to you. I'm afraid that I want her for myself."

Takasugi paused for a moment before staring at Gintoki with his single eye. "Tell me, Gintoki, do you even realize why this child is so important?"

Gintoki frowned a bit as he stared at him. He remained silent.

Takasugi held Kyoko up so that she was in front of his face. He then stared at the infant with a look of admiration. "Kyoko is special…almost in a supernatural way…" Takasugi glanced back to Gintoki. "Surely you must know something about this…"

Gintoki was silent for a moment. He casually scratched the back of his head as he thought about this. "Uh…well, sure, Kyoko is special. Doesn't every parent think that their kid is special?"

"Hmph," said Takasugi, turning his attention to Kyoko once more. "I know you're only joking, but this is something way more than just being unique. Kyoko has immense power within her, power that might even have the strength to determine the fate of the world!" Takasugi paused as he raised the infant up a little bit higher. "And whoever controls this power, will control destiny itself…Kyoko will help me shape the world!"

Gintoki just gave the man another blank stare. "Dude, she's only a baby…What are you even talking about?"

Takasugi ignored him as he brought Kyoko back in front of his face. "I didn't know for certain until I laid eyes on the child, but the moment I did, I was sure of it. You see, I had always had a feeling that this child was special, ever since I had first even heard of its existence. It was the same with that Naraku agent by the name of Yagami…"

Gintoki's expression grew serious as he recalled the face of the man that had once tried to kill him and his entire family.

"The only difference was that he feared the power that Kyoko had within her," Takasugi continued. "While I sought it out and planned to make it my own. And that was back before Kyoko had even been born…"

Takasugi finally lowered Kyoko down to his chest and turned to Gintoki with an insane grin. "Even you must know this, Gintoki! Kyoko is special!"

As Takasugi's speech came to a conclusion, Gintoki remained silent. He stared at the floor with a frown for a while before eventually looking back up at his enemy. "Give the kid back," he said quietly.

"I refuse," Takasugi replied simply.

Gintoki scowled at him before raising his sword up once more. "Then I'll take her back by force!"

"Tch," said Takasugi, looking disappointed. "Somehow, I knew that things would turn out this way…"

Making sure that Gintoki remained at a reasonable distance, Takasugi called Takechi over to him. "Takechi, come take the child. And then go find a ship and make your escape."

Gintoki frowned at this and took a step forward. "Like hell I'm going to let you-"

"Stop!" Takasugi interrupted him, drawing his blade with one swift motion. "If you attack me now, you would risk hurting Kyoko…You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Gintoki clenched his teeth. He knew that Takasugi had a point. As long as he held Kyoko in his arms, any attempt to take her back would be dangerous. She could end up falling, being jolted around too much, or possibly even hit by a stray attack on accident. Gintoki shuddered at the thought, and stood still as he watched Takechi take Kyoko out of Takasugi's arms.

Well this sucks he thought to himself. I still haven't gotten Kyoko back, and it looks like they're trying to get away with her. But, on the other hand, at least now I've been freed up to kick Takasugi's ass…

Once Kyoko was safely transferred over to Takechi, Takasugi turned to Gintoki. "Get going," he told his subordinate.

Takechi simply nodded. "As you wish, Shinsuke-dono." Without another word, Takechi ran off in the direction of the nearest hangar, taking Kyoko along with him.

Gintoki watched them go in silence. He soon clenched his fists as he drew his second blade from his side. "Let's make this quick," he said seriously. "I came here to get my daughter back. I don't plan on letting your man escape with her."

Takasugi took up a fighting stance. "As you wish, but I won't be letting you move from this spot!"

The fight broke out instantly. Takasugi rushed forward and struck at Gintoki from the side. Gintoki blocked it with his metal sword and immediately used his wooden one to strike Takasugi's shoulder. The terrorist flinched for a moment before reaching up and grabbing the weapon. He held it tightly in place as he continued his offensive attack.

Gintoki's and Takasugi's blade made swift metallic clangs as they consistently clashed with each other. At this short distance, it was only inevitable that the two master swordsmen would end up successfully damaging one another. Sure enough, a scratch appeared on Takasugi's cheek, while at the same time, a cut appeared on Gintoki's arm.

Takasugi went to swing at Gintoki once more, but the samurai blocked the attack before pushing it off to the side. Gintoki then went to get in close and tried to stab Takasugi through the chest. The one-eyed warrior saw it coming, and ended up dodging to the side. He then reapplied his grip on Gintoki's wooden sword so that it was even tighter than before. At the same time, he kicked Gintoki in the stomach in order to push him away. The samurai was sent skidding backwards, and his wooden sword was yanked right out of his grasp.

Gintoki clenched his teeth as he placed his now empty hand on his stomach. He didn't have much time to recover though, as Takasugi quickly hurled his wooden sword right back at him, almost like it was a kunai. Gintoki barely reacted in time by placing both hands on his metallic sword and deflecting the incoming weapon. The wooden sword ended up flying into the wall behind Gintoki, creating several cracks with its force.

While Gintoki was distracted by this, Takasugi leapt towards Gintoki with his sword drawn back. Gintoki retreated backwards as he descended upon him. Their blades clashed as Gintoki moved away. Takasugi chased after him, following him step for step while attempting to cut him up. Gintoki simply kept hopping backwards as he defended, slowly making his way towards the wall where his wooden sword rested.

Naturally, Takasugi realized this, and gave Gintoki a smirk. "Ah, ah, ah," he said condescendingly. He soon pinpointed his strikes to one side, forcing Gintoki to move in a different direction if he wanted to continue defending. This ended up making Gintoki move in an arc away from his second weapon.

Damn it Gintoki cursed. Takasugi is putting too much pressure on me!

Gintoki soon decided to start using the environment around him to help get an advantage. Gintoki hopped into a nearby waiting area, and grabbed a chair. He soon hurled it at Takasugi as he approached him. Takasugi ended up making quick work of it, effortlessly cutting the chair to pieces.

However, Gintoki was already preparing the next obstacle. This time, he up-ended a table and threw that at his target. Takasugi was once again able to make quick work of the table, but also decided to gain his own use out of the object. He made a clean slice, separating the top of the table from its legs. He immediately grabbed the rounded top and hurled it back towards Gintoki as if it was a disc.

Gintoki was slightly surprised at his opponent's craftiness, but he remained calm as he used his own sword to cut the round obstacle into two pieces. This caused them to fly around his body, leaving him unharmed.

However, Takasugi once again took advantage of the distraction in order to descend on Gintoki. The samurai blocked the first blow before jumping backwards again. As he made his getaway, Takasugi kicked the nearest chair towards him. Gintoki jumped behind a shrub in order to dodge it.

It was only an instant before Takasugi charged at the bush and cut it to pieces. "Come on out, Gintoki!"

As soon as the twigs and leaves started to collapse, a sword shot out from behind the bush. Takasugi was stunned for a moment before twisting to the side. The sword ended up piercing straight through his left shoulder. He clenched his teeth as he felt the pain course through him. He could see Gintoki glaring at him as the shrub completely fell apart.

After making his successful strike, Gintoki tried to pull his blade free and retreat. Unfortunately, Takasugi wasn't going to let him off so easily. As the soon as the sword left his shoulder, Takasugi went to slice Gintoki right across the chest. However, the samurai was quick enough that only a small gash was made.

Gintoki jumped backwards as Takasugi pursued him. Gintoki continued to try and get closer to where his wooden sword resided, knowing full well that it would give him an advantage in this fight, but Takasugi relentlessly tried to drive him away from it. As he started to near the weapon once more, Gintoki made a leap backwards, almost close enough to reach it…

Thinking quickly, Takasugi used his free hand to grab a nearby decorative vase. He instantly hurled it towards Gintoki's feet. The pot successfully landed, slamming hard into Gintoki's leg as it shattered. Gintoki soon lost his footing, and found himself falling backwards.

Takasugi quickly took the opportunity to pounce on him. "Gintoki!"

Gintoki simply clenched his teeth as he felt his back slam against the floor. He positioned his sword horizontally, and placed his free hand on the back of the blade for support. As Takasugi descended on him, he managed to safely block the powerful blow. As soon as it landed, Gintoki used the leftover momentum of his fall to kick his legs upward. They ended up connecting with Takasugi's stomach, and by also pushing against the connected blades, Gintoki managed to flip Takasugi right over top of him.

Takasugi was sent flying in the direction that Gintoki needed to go, but it didn't matter, for as soon as Gintoki was on his feet, he had already pulled his wooden sword free of the wall. It was only a moment before Takasugi was back on his feet as well, and quickly rushed towards Gintoki. Gintoki readied both of his swords.

Once again, the two metallic blades clashed with a loud clang. The instant they did, Gintoki shot the tip of his wooden sword straight towards Takasugi's chest. With no weapon left to defend himself, the attack landed perfectly, forcing Takasugi to skid away from Gintoki as he winced in pain. As he slowed to a halt, the terrorist coughed up a bit of blood.

Gintoki carefully watched his opponent climb to his feet. Takasugi looked like he was about to rush towards Gintoki again, but soon paused as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He quickly jumped backwards as two kunai flew out and hit the wall beside him.

Surprised, both Gintoki and Takasugi turned towards the direction of the attack. There stood a rather ferocious looking Tsukuyo. She was breathing heavily, and seemed to be bleeding a little. She had a bit of a crazed look in her eyes as she glared at Takasugi, and she soon clenched her teeth as if she was baring her fangs.

"Where is my daughter?" she asked quietly.

Takasugi remained silent and still as he stared at her. Meanwhile, Gintoki wasted no time pointing her in the right direction.

"His subordinate took her away!" he shouted, pointing to where Takechi had ran off. "They're trying to escape with a ship! If you hurry, you can catch them!"

Tsukuyo kept her reply brief. She simply nodded before running in the direction he had indicated. As she dashed, she threw one final glare at Takasugi before turning to Gintoki once more. "Gintoki, make him pay!" she shouted.

"Of course," he said with a grin. Gintoki then watched to make sure she made a safe getaway. To his surprise, Takasugi simply stood there and watched her go. He didn't make a single attempt to stop her, and only seconds later, she was gone.

Once she was out of sight, Gintoki gave his opponent a curious glance. "What's this?" he asked him. "This isn't like you. How's come you didn't try to stop Tsukuyo, huh?"

Takasugi was silent for a moment, but he soon turned to his opponent as well. He had a mad grin on his face. "I couldn't help it…Whenever I fight with you, Gintoki, my blood boils, and everything else just seems to disappear…"

Without warning, Takasugi ended up rushing forward again. He swung his blade at Gintoki hard enough to push him back once the blades connected.

Takasugi went to swing again. "Make no mistake!" he shouted. "I still want Kyoko for myself!"

Gintoki blocked the incoming attack, and held firm in order to keep from being pushed away this time. He gave Takasugi a serious look as their eyes met. "Sorry," he said quietly, "but you're not laying a finger on my daughter."

Takasugi's grin intensified, almost as if he had simultaneously acknowledged what Gintoki was saying and challenged it. The talk was quickly cut short as the fight continued.

Tsukuyo ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She couldn't help it. Knowing that her infant daughter was so close to her reach nearly drove her crazy with determination. She was trying as hard as she could to get her baby safely back in her arms.

I'm so close! she thought desperately. I can feel it! I'm almost at Kyoko's side!

Tsukuyo went in the direction of the nearest hangar, running at top speed. After making a few turns, she arrived there, entering through a pair of large doors that would normally be closed. This let Tsukuyo know that she was on the right track. It was then that Tsukuyo paused as she heard Kyoko's cries start to ring through the air once more.

"Ah, please be quiet, little one," said an unknown voice.

Like a marksman that had set their eyes on a target, Tsukuyo locked on to the noise and darted towards it without hesitation. A moment later, she found Takechi lowering a ramp that would lead onto one of the parked ships. In his arms, Kyoko was wailing.

Without thinking, Tsukuyo hurled kunai towards the ramp, causing it to suddenly jam and stop lowering. Takechi turned around in surprise as Tsukuyo landed in front of him.

"Don't move," she hissed. She pointed a kunai in his direction to let him know that she was serious. Takechi did as he was told, warily watching the weapon in her hand.

Tsukuyo's eyes unconsciously drifted towards her crying child, and her expression softened for a moment as she smiled slightly. There was Kyoko, safe and unharmed. However, she was still in the enemy's grasp, and Tsukuyo ended up strengthening her resolve once more. She turned to Takechi.

"I don't want Kyoko to get hurt," she said sternly. "Hand her over."

Takechi paused for a moment, but ended up slowly shaking his head. "I'm afraid I can't. I must escape with this child on Shinsuke-dono's orders."

Tsukuyo ended up nervously frowning at this. "I won't let you do that. Hand her over now."

Takechi gave her a frown in return. "Sorry miss, but if I do that, then you might attack me. As long as I hold the child in my arms, you'll keep your distance, correct?"

Tsukuyo's eyes widened a little as she bit her lip. "You bastard…I swear, if you harm her in any way, I will murder you in an instant…"

"We're not looking to harm her," Takechi explained truthfully. "We just want to take her along with us. I understand that this must be heartbreaking for you, but this is the way that things must be."

Tsukuyo couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wanted to save her daughter, but if she made a move, Kyoko could end up being terribly injured in the process. Tsukuyo almost felt like she was at a loss of what to do. "Stop it!" she shouted, pointing the kunai in his direction once more. "Hand her over!"

Takechi stared at her for a moment, but kept firm. "I will not."

Tsukuyo, starting to grow desperate, suddenly dropped her weapon. She then fell to her knees, brought her arms forward, and turned her palms upwards. "Please," she begged quietly. "Please give me back my baby…I wish for nothing more than her safe return…Please…"

Takechi continued to stare at her, and actually seemed to hesitate a little. It was possible that he was sympathizing with her plea, but it soon ended up proving futile as Tsukuyo heard a small click behind her head.

Eyes widened with shock, she turned around to find the Crimson Bullet standing behind her with a gun pointed at her head. "You," Tsukuyo whispered. "I thought I took care of you…How?"

Matako grinned a little. "I managed to pull myself free of those blasted weapons of yours," she explained. "A little while ago, Takechi-senpai sent out a report that he was escaping with the child. He broadcasted the number of the hangar to all receivers so we could help aid in his getaway. All I had to do was find my way here and sneak up on you. It was simple."

Tsukuyo ended up clenching her teeth as she slowly reached for her kunai. "You bitch…"

"Sorry, but this ends right now," said Matako, shoving her gun forward. "Say g-"

At that instant, Kagura appeared from above, and quickly fell straight down on Matako, feet first. She effectively ended up drop-kicking the gunslinger, saving Tsukuyo.

"Stay away from Tsukky!" Kagura yelled.

"Kagura!?" Tsukuyo exclaimed. She couldn't believe that the girl had come to her rescue.

"Are you all right, Tsukuyo-san?" asked Shinpachi, suddenly appearing from above as well.

"Shinpachi!?" asked Tsukuyo. "Yeah, I'm okay, but what are you two doing here? I thought you were caught up in a fight below!"

"We were," Shinpachi explained as he landed by her side. "But those two Shinsengumi told us they would finish things up and sent us ahead."

"The sadist received a report with Kyoko's location!" Kagura yelled as she entered combat with Matako. "We rushed here to help save her!"

"We'll back you up, Tsukuyo-san!" Shinpachi yelled as he ran towards Takechi with his wooden sword. "You get Kyoko back!"

Upon hearing this, Tsukuyo was suddenly brought to her senses. She quickly followed the boy's lead as he led a charge towards Takechi.

"Ah, I need to escape!" Takechi exclaimed, turning to make a run for it.

"Not so fast!" Shinpachi yelled. Wasting no time, he slammed his sword right into Takechi's back. This caused the strategist to gasp in pain, and also lose his grip on the infant in his arms. Crying loudly, Kyoko was released from his grasp. Instantly, Tsukuyo rushed forward and collected the baby as gently as she could.

Once she landed, Tsukuyo pulled back a bit in order to observe her daughter. In that instant, she breathed a huge sigh of relief as a heavy weight was lifted from her shoulders. Kyoko was finally safe and secure in her arms.

"Hi Kyoko," she said softly. "Don't worry, mommy has you now."

Kyoko continued to fuss in her mother's embrace, but Tsukuyo didn't care. She ended pulling her daughter close. "I'm…just so glad that you're safe…"

A moment later, Tsukuyo rose to her feet and turned back around. She found that Kagura was still dueling with Matako off to the side while Shinpachi was starting up a battle with Takechi. Both of the Yorozuya kids turned to her with hopeful looks.

"Did you get Kyoko back?" asked Kagura.

"Is she safe?" asked Shinpachi.

Tsukuyo smiled as she nodded. "I've got her! She's fine!"

"That's great! Now take her and get out of here!" Kagura ordered.

"We'll hold off the enemies!" Shinpachi exclaimed.

Tsukuyo realized that they had created a chance for her to rescue Kyoko and make a safe escape. She smiled once more as she nodded and took off. "Shinpachi! Kagura! Thanks for everything!"

Tsukuyo ran straight towards the hangar's exit as fast as she could. Both Matako and Takechi looked like they were about to make a move, but Shinpachi and Kagura intervened at the last second. The four of them continued to fight as Tsukuyo finally escaped.

As they ran, Kyoko continued to wail in Tsukuyo's arms. The courtesan stared down at her daughter, and ended up smiling as her eyes started to well up with tears.

"It's okay, Kyoko," she said softly. "You can stop crying. Everything is okay now…"

A few tears fell down Tsukuyo's cheeks as she cherished her baby with the warmest embrace she could muster.

"You can stop crying now, it's okay…" Tsukuyo ended up sniffing a little before looking back up. "Sorry, I'm just so relieved…that we've finally been reunited!"

And it's a happy reunion too. I'm glad that they finally ended up back together, but I guess it's my fault that they were separated in the first place XD Er…sorry about that…

I was very thankful to receive everyone's reviews after I announced that this story is ending. It made me a little sad, but I was also pleased because several people claimed that this story is one of the best they've ever seen. That really is the highest praise I feel like I can receive. Thank you so much, everyone!

This time around, I feel like I want to discuss what I was thinking when I came up with this story. Believe it or not, this story is partially based on another known as "Usagi, A Saiyan Child". It was written many years ago, but I really liked the structure of it, as you see, it was split into different arcs or "books" that occurred over time. I always liked that kind of long-term storytelling.

When I first came up with the idea for this story, I had just finished catching up with Gintama after experiencing it for the first time ever. I really liked the idea of Gintoki and Tsukuyo being together, and kind of wanted to write a long-term story based around a romantic relationship for them! This would end up being the first story I ever wrote, so it was definitely a big step!

My first idea for Silver Moon was actually Book 2. I wanted to write a story that basically went along the lines of "Gintoki does some heartbreaking things and makes himself out to be a villain against a guy that seems good but in reality Gintoki is just saving everyone". I especially wanted to include that break-up scene as kind of a crazy twist. However, in order for this to work, I would first need an arc that set the two up as a couple, hence the idea for the hectic Book 1 came about.

I also wanted to focus on an arc where Tsukuyo gets pregnant, so ideas for Book 4 soon popped up. And that was really all I had at first. Just three loosely tied together plots. Eventually I thought up the ideas for Book 5, but Book 3 was the one that took some time to actually consider including. You see, at first I was just going to skip the wedding entirely, but I ended up considering a plot where Kagura goes crazy and before I knew it I had ideas for all 5 Books. After that, I began working on Book 1 Chapter 1, and I've never changed course since. And the rest is history, I suppose :)

Sorry for going on for so long, but it was fun reminiscing about this stuff. I hope you enjoyed listening to my "thought process" from three and a half years ago XD Anyway, 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'll see you then!