Chapter 9: My Dear Baby

"Toushi, welcome home." Otae called a few months later. She was wearing a white sun dress and she had the baby in her bundle. He smiled.

"I'm home." He kissed her.

"I missed you. Even two weeks is hard, you know?"

"I know, but it's just until the war is over."

"How long is the war going to go on…?"

"The real battle is going to start in about two years or so," he told her, "But we still have other things to attend to."

"All right… But Takarou wants you around too." She showed the baby, who looked dully at the father. Toushirou picked up his son into his arms.

"Yo, how you doin'?" he kissed his son's forehead, and the baby punched him on the nose. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!?!" he exclaimed.

"He must be angry because you're only around half the time." Otae giggled and took the baby back.

"I miss you guys a lot too." She looked at him and giggled.

"Oh dear, am I getting jealous of my own child?" she giggled, "After all, I want to be the only one Toushirou looks at."

"Don't worry. You're my only woman." He kissed her again.

"Come sit down. You're tired, aren't you?" She put the baby in his cradle and sat down on the porch. Otae lifted the coat off of him and put it aside. He layed down and put his head down on her lap.

"You can't imagine how much I wanted this…" he sighed.

"I know darling, I know."

"Darling?"

"Is it bad?"

"I mean, no, but… I like just Toushi better."

"Not honey?"

"Nah."

"Sweetie?"

"No."

"Jackass?"

"Huh… Wait, what?!?!"

"Haha, Toushi…" Otae giggled and stroked his hair, "I'm just kidding."

"…Have you been doing OK with the salary I've been sending back?"

"Yes. It's wonderful, I have enough money to get him quality ingredients for his food, and save up some money for later."

"I'm glad…" he said softly, and he started to doze off.

"Sleep well, Toushi." She smiled and put her lips near his ear, "Tonight, let's use up that energy."

"…Pervert."

"We'll use the bath."

"Does that change the fact that you're perverted?"

"Come on, you were planning to do it too, right?" He blushed furiously.

"Well, maybe a little… But wouldn't that be me using you?"

"I like it too," she smirked, "So both of us benefit. We like being in each other's arms. We like feeling our bodies against each other. Is that so bad?"

"I guess not…" he kissed her hand and started to fall asleep again. She sung a song to him to help him.

If I will be reflected in your eyes

I wonder, what color do you think I'd be?

If you wish for me to be a red

Then I shall become light of the sun.

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"Apparently, Otae has been training to become a nurse." Kagura told her husband.

"Yeah. She was so inspired by Dr. Mitsuki, she decided to give it a try."

"Why don't you get inspired and get a good job?"

"Ouch, that hurts…" he told her.

"Hey… You know what? We don't fight as much as we used to."

"Think so?"

"Yeah. We get along a lot better."

"Well, I would hope so." He sat down next to her, "We ARE husband and wife, after all."

"Hey, can you go out and get me some sukonbu?" she asked, "I'm hungry. The baby is asking for food."

"You're getting another eating frenzy, huh?" he stood up and walked to the door, "All right, I'll be back in a little bit. Take care, OK?" Gintoki jumped on his scooter and drove off.

For a while, Kagura was fine. She looked through a Shonen Jump, reading some different manga. Then, she felt a jolt in her stomach. It was different than usual. She gritted her teeth, trying to forget the pain she felt. She timed the contractions, and they were right on the mark. Kagura was going into labor. She dragged herself over to the phone, so in pain. This couldn't be what a regular labor felt like… Her strength was being drained. Then she realized. It was just as the doctor said. The disease would kill her when she gave birth. Her hands shook as she picked up the phone, and dialed the number. The phone rang on the other end. Otae was breast-feeding Takarou, and she couldn't move.

"Toushi! Would you please answer the phone?" she called to him as he got out of the shower. He came out, his dog tag around his neck, and he shuffled a towel through his hair, he only had his black pants on. "Oh come on, Toushi, weren't we going to use the bath tonight, you didn't need to use the shower."

"I know, but I wanted to be clean. Maybe my son won't hate me as much." Otae laughed as he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Please… Get Otae…" Kagura panted.

"Kagura? Is that you?"

"JUST PUT OTAE ON THE PHONE!" she yelled.

"A-All right. Tae? It's Kagura. She doesn't sound well."

"Ah…! Shit, she must be in labor!" Otae took the phone, "Kagura! Kagura, listen to me. I'll be right there. Just wait for a few moments, all right? Don't give up on me!" she yelled and hung up the phone, "Toushi! Can you drive me to Kagura's?"

"You got it." He ran off to get his shirt on. Otae grabbed her doctor's bag and put Takarou in his cradle.

"All right, Takarou. Be good, Mama will only be gone for a little while. I'll get someone over here to feed you a little later, just be good, all right?" She kissed him on the head and ran away. "Do you have the keys?"

"Yeah, let's go!" he hopped in their car, ducking into it. Otae went in on the other side.

"Toushi, your cellphone please." She asked him as they started to drive. She punched in a phone number.

"Hello?" a man's voice asked.

"Okita-kun, is Kaede-chan with you?"

"Yeah. She's here." He looked at the girl sleeping on his shoulder, "You need something?"

"Kagura is having her baby right now. We need her at Kagura's house, as fast as you can. Please come with her."

"All right." He snapped his cellphone closed and tried to wake her up, but she continued to sleep. He put his lips near her ear.

"I wanna make love to you." He whispered. Her face went red in her sleep, and she could feel steam. She jumped up screaming. Apparently it had done something to her dreams.

"D-D-D-D-D-Did you just say that in my ear…?!"

"I had to wake you up somehow." He smirked, proud of his wake-up success.

"DID YOU HAVE TO DO IT LIKE THAT?!" she screeched, and he stopped her.

"Kagura is going into labor." He told her.

"No way…!" Kaede covered her mouth as tears dripped from her eyes. She knew what Dr. Mitsuki had said. About how there was a 90 percent chance that Kagura would die during childbirth.

"Let' drive." He took the keys out of his pocket and held her hand. They walked in silence, hand-in-hand.

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"Huh…? Why are there Shinsengumi cars outside my house?" Gintoki walked to his door with the plastic bag of sukonbu in his hand. When he opened the door, he heard his wife's screams.

"Kagura!!!" he called and ran to her room, dropping the bag on the floor. There she was on her bed, Otae sitting on the floor, trying to ease her through the birthing process. He saw she was in so much pain.

"Tae, she's having a harder time than even you. What's-"

"It's her disease." Otae interupted, "She's losing energy rapidly. At this rate, she won't survive." Sobs were heard behind the door. They were Kaede's as she cried into Okita's arm. Gin walked calmly over to his wife, who was screaming uncontrollably. He sat down next to her and rubbed her forehead.

"Hey, come on Kagura. If you're the universe's strongest race, can't you beat a stupid disease?" he laughed, and her cries softened. She tried to hold them in, listening to his words, "Why do you think, I, the silver demon Gintoki, chose you as my wife?" She opened her eyes, expecting him to look, calm, high, and mighty, but what she saw was different.

"Come on, Kagura… Don't leave me here." Gin tried to smile as tears dripped from his eyes and fell onto her neck.

"Gin… I won't lose from something like this…!" she smirked confidently, held his hand, and pushed as hard as she could. With one last battle cry, another cry was heard. It was the cry of a little baby.

"Kagura, you did it. It's a girl." Otae took the baby from her, "Kaede-chan!" Otae called to the other room. She ran in, and saw her sister was OK. She sighed with relief. "Take Toushi with you. He'll know the basics of cleaning."

"No I don't."

"Then you weren't paying attention during my lessons." She said between her teeth in anger.

"N-Now, Otae, calm down…!"

"How can I calm down? Kagura still needs a checkup, and the baby needs to be washed. NOW.

"My, you didn't call for me?" Mitsuki walked in.

"Dr. Mitsuki!" Everyone said.

"I'll clean. Otae, you do the examination."

"All right. Leave it to me."

"Come here, honey…" Mitsuki looked lovingly at the baby. After all, it was her best friend's grandchild. It was like a piece of her.

"You look OK. You made it through the worst." Otae smiled, "However, you still won't live long. Another 5 years… Maybe." She said sadly.

"At least she's in this world… My dear baby…" Kagura told her.

"Let's not give up hope. Maybe a cure will be found soon." Gin stroked her hair.

"There's a doctor who's researching a cure right now on a faraway planet." Mitsuki told them as she entered, "I'll tell you if there's any news."

"Thank you, Doctor Mitsuki." Kagura took the bundle from her arms. Mitsuki and everyone else left the room for the couple and their child to be in peace. She just stared at the little baby for a moment. She tried to take in that this was her baby. The baby she could have lost her life from. The beautiful baby made from her and Gin, the one she loved.

"Ah!" Gintoki pointed to a tuft of hair on her hair. It was beautifully silver, with a shine of blue to it.

"The Silver Soul lives on." Kagura cheered quietly.

"What's her name?" he asked her.

"How about something from both of our names… Kagi?" she asked.

"It's pretty. The word for 'Key'." He kissed his wife, "Her name is Kagi. The key to our happiness." And so the couple talked with each other, the baby slept, and when she woke up, Gin took her in his hands. They communicated with each other, their hands entwining with each other, giggles from all of them, and slowly heading towards the night, the new family of three fell asleep.

Told you. Two babies, two chapters. Kagi is going to be Takarou's girlfriend in the future, by the way. And… Well, I won't spoil the rest. All I'll say is… Tora and Takiko. No more spoilers~ I hope you enjoy the next chapters! I'll do my best to write them! …As long as I don't get writers block. Well, if I do, I'll start a new fanfic for a while. I always do that. Crap, I've already got too many unfinished stories. God… XD

Song of this chapter

Kimi ga Tame

Artist: Suara

Anime Origin: Utawaremono

Translated by: Ameyoke