Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. It is owned by the awesome Sorachi Hideaki-sensei, Sunrise and Shueisha.

Rating: T

Genre: Romance, Tragedy

Summary: An annual festival at Yoshiwara creates a chance for Gintoki to learn more about the death of Shouyou-sensei, while Tsukuyo learns upon the truth of her abandonment.

Author's Notes: Yes, danger always happens at Yoshiwara, though the stage now isn't Yoshiwara – well, you'll know what I mean afterwards. Treat this as any serious arc in Gintama. (Yeah right. )

EDIT: Shinigami Tayuu, not Daiyuu~~ Sorry for the mistake. And edited the percent thingie XD

Truth

(信実 Shinjitsu)

A Gintama Fanfiction

By Kurasuchi~

XOXOX

CHAPTER 1

"Taking a break is the same as doing work."

XOXOX

The streets of Kabuki-cho — like many other districts in Edo, is abundant in shops and people, where at one look, it can easily be described as a wealthy place. Mobs of people gather everywhere, women and children roam the streets, garbed in their kimonos, chatting, walking, running, or simply goofing around. Of course, it is also a fact that Kabuki-cho is famous for being a place where all of the weird people gather.

First, there's a former thief with cat ears, a robot who's practically a walking reference to Dragon Quest, and an old granny who does give a lot of damn for those delayed rent. Apparently, she's one of those so-called Four Devas, but who the hell gives a damn anyway.

There's a terrorist cosplaying and working at random places, complete with an oversized mascot who looks like a cross between a penguin and a duck. Or simply, it was a Renhou, but that was for the mascot substitute anyway.

There's a good-for-nothing-old-man, a marude dame na ossan, simply called a Madao, who makes the most out of a park and a large carton.

There's a perpetually-smiling woman whose face was still full of smiles even when she beats up a gorilla-like stalker. Furthermore, it was a policeman, the captain of the Shinsengumi, but she does not give a damn about it anyway.

Then there are the other members of the Shinsengumi: the mayonnaise freak, the prince of sadists, and the anpan and badminton maniac.

There's also a crossdresser with an eyepatch, together with an overly devoted servant.

There are also the members of the Oniwabanshuu: the ninja with hemorrhoids and the ninja-stalker who had a big crush on the main character.

And last but not the least, there's also the brilliant, handsome, silver-haired guy with a natural perm whose former alias was the Jouishishi Shiroyasha, together with..

…a Yato girl atop of a humongous white dog named Sadaharu...

..and a pair of glasses.

"OI! GIN-SAN! STOP THAT DAMNED MONOLOGUE, WILL YOU? AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING YOURSELF 'BRILLIANT' AND 'HANDSOME'? MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHY AM I ONLY A PAIR OF GLASSES?"

With that remark, the Yorozuya trio stopped on their tracks. Without paying attention to the bystanders, or to the fact that they were arguing on the streets, they continued on rambling.

"Don't worry Shinpachi, Gin-chan never forgot your defining feature," said Kagura, who was happily chomping on a sukonbu. "After all, the equation is MEGANE = SHINPACHI."

"OI! CUT THAT OUT! And what the hell am I supposed to be then?"

"Now, now, calm down Pattsuan," Gintoki consoled, "I was just stating the truth! Haven't I told you this before? Look it up on Volume 24, Chapter 203! Shinpachi-kun, your entire existence is made up of 95% glasses, 3% spit and 2% garbage!"

Kagura took the sukonbu off her mouth and wiggled atop of Sadaharu. "Ya~hooo~! Shinpachi! I told you that you're just a pair of glasses!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP THE BOTH OF YOU! CUT IT OUT!" retorted the poor boy. He fell silent for a while and adjusted his glasses – his entire existence. "And by the way Gin-san, where are we going?"

Gin-san kept on walking down the streets until he finally stopped. Shinpachi, Kagura and Sadaharu also stopped on their tracks.

"Pattsuan, we're already here," stated Gintoki a matter-of-factly.

Shinpachi then stared at the oh-so-familiar spectacle in front of him.

"Oi, Gin-san, isn't this Yoshiwara?"

Kagura perked up at the sight. She jumped off of Sadaharu and leapt around Gintoki, while clutching around her umbrella with one hand, and a pack of sukonbu on the other hand.

"Yatta!" squealed the girl, "we're gonna visit Tsukky!"

"Kagura-chan, that's not the point," interjected Shinpachi. "The thing is, we were walking down the streets of Kabuki-cho earlier, and then suddenly, we were here? What did we do, did we teleport here?"

A smirk formed at Gintoki's face as he gave his reply. "Now, now, Pattsuan. That kind of thing is common! In fiction, everything just goes 'KABOOM!' and 'CHA-CHING!' You get what I mean?"

"No," Shinpachi whispered to himself, "I didn't understand a thing."

The silver-haired samurai groaned in response to Shinpachi's naivety. "Well, that's simply how it is," he explained, while moving his hands up in the air for more effect. "Life is like a Dragon Ball, Shinpachi-kun. There are instances where we just have to grab a chance at something, like, totally, grab it, and go squeeze it. I mean, we really need to, there are only seven balls!"

Just as Gintoki waved his hands in the air and demonstrated the "grabbing" and "squeezing" sequence, he then found his hands grabbing and squeezing something big and bouncy. What's more, it was quite a familiar feeling. The permhead sweatdropped in response.

"Um.. Shinpachi, Kagura? Is this what I think it is?"

The two adolescents in question just stared at him and eyed him suspiciously.

"Gin-chan," stated Kagura with a deadpan voice, "you've hit the jackpot again."

Gintoki gulped soundly as he became more and more nervous by the second. He then squeezed the "object" in his hands for the second time, checking if his guess was right. His suspicions were confirmed when he felt a dark aura rising from his sides.

"WH—WHAT THE HELL DO YA THINK YOU'RE DOIN'?"

Before Gintoki realized it, he was already on the ground as he was done in by a friggin' suplex.

"You… you damn violent woman," he muttered as he massaged his head that was hit on the ground. "Is this your welcome to the one who saved your ass off several times?"

Shinpachi and Kagura watched as the aforementioned woman dusted off her hands after performing a suplex on their leader. Shinpachi was the first to react.

"Tsu—Tsukuyo-san.."

Tsukuyo then took a step forward and bowed slightly in greeting to the remaining members of the Yorozuya. "Hinowa asked me to accompany you in your visit. Let's go first to the shop."

XOXOX

"Seconds please!"

Shinpachi glared at the girl dressed in Chinese clothes who was practically eating directly from the rice cooker.

"Um, Kagura-chan? There's practically no more seconds left – you've eaten it all!"

"Shut up, megane. Go suck on your mama's teat!"

"IS THAT WHAT A GIRL'S SUPPOSED TO SAY?"

Gintoki glared at the two of them. He then sighed and picked his nose. Here they were, at Hino-ya, and after Tsukuyo accompanied them, she left for a while as she told them that she had other things to do. So much for accompaniment.

He was about to add some comment on Shinpachi's lame tsukkomi when he was startled by the arrival of a woman bound on a wheelchair, accompanied by a boy whom they saved not too long ago.

As usual, Shinpachi was the first to get over their arrival. He stood up and smiled at them.

"Thanks for inviting us, Hinowa-san, Seita-kun. Uh… well.. May I ask the reason why you've invited us here?"

Hinowa smiled. "Well, you see, there's an annual occasion here in Yoshiwara, and this being the first year since our liberation from the rule of Housen, we wanted to make this as festive as possible."

"Oi, oi. So… you want us to offer our services and help you guys do the job?" retorted Gintoki, his fingers now picking his ears.

Hinowa's smile did not falter. "Of course not, Gin-san. The thing is, you guys are our guests of honor."

"Gin-san, everyone! Kaa-chan says that y'all gonna be the stars of the festival!" chirped in Seita, who even approached the Yorozuya trio. "Y'all gonna be in a show!"

A.. A SHOW! GUESTS OF HONOR!

That exact, same thought crossed the minds of the three as Seita then went back to his mother and asked her, "Kaa-chan, you said that they'll be our guests of honor, right?"

Hinowa smiled in return and gave a small nod. "Yes, my dear. What you've said was true. Gin-san, everyone," she said as she faced the three, "Please enjoy the festival that Yoshiwara had prepared for you."

The three were overjoyed. Of course, Gintoki was happy about it too. He absolutely loved festivals, as he was allowed to do fun things for free, and the other stalls were absolutely cheap. And if they're the guests of honor, then surely, there'll be more than what meets the eye..

"Gin-san… uh..Gin-san?"

Gintoki was startled in his thoughts as he noticed that Hinowa approached him. Probably, judging from her actions, this festival thing had another purpose.

"What is it?" he asked. Hinowa replied with a hand gesture, asking him to come over. Gintoki then leaned his ears closer so he can hear what she was about to say.

"If it's okay with you, I want you to bring Tsukuyo to the festival with you guys. I want her to have fun."

Gintoki grumbled for a moment. "Huh? Why? Why would I do that? No way, she's a hassle, no way."

"Oh please, Gin-san. She's been working nonstop these past few days. She deserves a break."

"And I deserve a break too," grumbled Gintoki. Damn! And to think that he was supposed to go and have fun at a festival!

"Well, I'm sure that with these, you would be convinced." Hinowa then flashed some coupons, which includes a free entrance and playing at the nearby pachinko parlor, and a free eat-all-you-can card at a sweets store in Yoshiwara.

Gintoki's eyes bulged for a moment as he relished at the sight. Freebies! He absolutely needed this!

"Deal," he smirked as he grabbed the coupons and placed it inside his kimono.

"Oh, and another thing Gin-san," started Hinowa, as she noticed that Gintoki was about to leave. "In case you didn't notice, we think that Tsukuyo might have a crush on you."

"WHAT? No friggin' way. There's no way in hell that violent and grumpy woman would ever have a crush on me."

"And what gave you the idea that I have a crush on you, huh?"

A kunai then came flying to his head. Thankfully it was one of her toys, or else he would have died on the spot. However, Gintoki was startled by the sudden reply that he didn't notice this, and he eventually turned to face its owner, only to see Tsukuyo herself.

"Ya big narcissist. I ain't got a crush on ya, got that?"

Gintoki laughed sarcastically. "Haah – of c-course I know. You won't ever have a crush on me. Hahaha.."

Fortunately for him, Tsukuyo ignored his presence immediately as he noticed that she was busily chatting with both Hinowa and Seita.

He then took a glance at both Shinpachi and Kagura. Kagura was busy dancing and yelling to herself, practicing her speech and acting what she would do on the night of the festival. At least, that's what he deduced from her actions. On the other hand, Shinpachi, as plain as he could be, was in the other corner of the room, practicing one of Otsuu's songs with that ugly voice of his.

They surely are into this, he thought, and smiled to himself.

This one's gonna be a long day.

XOXOX

It was a full moon that night – perfect for occasions such as this annual festival at Yoshiwara. The streets that were commonly filled with lights from sexual establishments were replaced by colorful lanterns and shops, filled with delicacies and stalls common to every festival in Edo. The courtesans who were usually dressed in luxurious furisode were now dressed in lighter yukatas, their faces free from heavy makeup. Even the members of the Hyakka wore the same clothes, obviously embracing their womanhood.

Mobs of people roamed the streets, clearly relishing the event to its fullest. If one had to ask a person who went there before the death of Housen, they can only say one thing: everything changed. The population in Yoshiwara was now not only limited to women; men had also settled there, some of them starting their own family in the underground. From an outsider's perspective, it can be clearly seen that Yoshiwara was slowly becoming a fine town on its own. Moreover, this same thing was observed by a certain silver-haired samurai as he crossed along the streets, studying the place with his dead, fish-like eyes.

"Man, a lot has sure changed in here," grunted Gintoki, whose free hand was now scratching his head, while the other holding some Mitarashi dango. "It's getting more like any other town by the day."

"Well, that's because we, the Hyakka have been doing our job well. It's hard to suddenly change our old lifestyle, but if it means to have our own liberation, then protecting Yoshiwara won't just be enough. We need to be free from all our ties to our former lifestyle."

Gintoki looked through the corner of his eye at the woman beside him. She was still garbed in her usual outfit, with only a haori serving as her coat from the cold evening air, and with only half of her hair tied up at the back of her head, unlike her usual hairstyle. Sure, she's breathtaking, but she's still as grumpy as ever. He sighed in response.

"Man, of all people, why would I be stuck on such a festive occasion with a grumpy woman like you? I can't even get some booze if it's like this."

"I share the same sentiments. I'd rather waste my time having fun with the others than being stuck with a man like you," retorted Tsukuyo, who remained rather uninterested, or rather, unfazed by his comment. She crossed her arms across her chest and held out her kiseru, its smoke coming out of her lips.

Gintoki heaved a deep sigh. Of all people, he thought bitterly, why would I get stuck with her?

He knew that Hinowa made this as another excuse to give her a break. He knew that even she deserved to have a break. And he knew that of all the people she knew, he was the one most suitable for the job – after all, he was made into her toy the last time he went to Yoshiwara. And he did not even forget the prank that she and the other girls did in order to stop him from drinking. He was still bitter about that, actually.

However, he did not like the fact that the two of them were separated from Shinpachi and Kagura as they trailed off the streets of Yoshiwara. It was the four of them originally, but much to his dismay, the two were caught off-guard by those traitorous stalls which offered an eat-all-you-can contest, and a limited edition DVD of Terakado Tsuu's new variety show. Before he knew it, the two of them were left alone in a flash.

He idly wondered about Hinowa's request earlier that afternoon. How was he supposed to make her enjoy herself?

He knew that booze was out of question, as he never wanted her to touch anything with alcohol content. Man, he never wanted to become her victim ever again. But.. then what? What should he do?

He took notice of the light trail of smoke coming from her kiseru. He felt a small chuckle down his throat.

"Man, you really like your smoke, don't you?"

"Well, of course I do. And you're still the same as ever," replied the girl, who was still as indifferent as before.

Gintoki's eyes wandered off the stalls once more, wondering if there is even something interesting that they could do. There were many stalls in here: a shooting stall, a fish scoop stall, a food stall, a gambling stall – there's so many things they can do. But what?

And then, an idea crossed Gintoki's mind.

"Oi, oi, Tsukky," called Gintoki, as he told her to come over with a hand gesture. Tsukuyo then took a step closer to him.

"And since when did you call me that? As I recall, I have never permitted you to call me like that."

Gintoki grunted in response. "I can call you whatever I want. But here, look at this," he told her as he pointed to a shooting stall. "I guess you know how to play that game, right?"

A vein popped out of her head animatedly. "Are you taking me for an idiot, Gintoki? Are you even serious? You know what I can do with my kunai, right?"

"Of course I know that. Don't take me for an idiot. What I'm saying is that we should have a contest – the one who gets to win most of the prizes in all of these stalls wins."

"A contest? Won't that be a tad too easy for the both of us?"

Gintoki just smirked in return. "Of course there'll be a catch. Or else it'll be too boring."

XOXOX

"Hey guys, check out that stall. Two demons are practically wiping everything out!"

"Dear customers! For God's sake, I'll go bankrupt!"

"NOT YET! YOU DAMN WOMAN, I WON'T LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU! JUST WAIT! I'LL OBLITERATE EVERYTHING IN YOUR FORTRESS!"

"OH NO YOU DON'T, YOU PERMHEAD! I'LL BE THE ONE TO CRUSH YOU INTO PIECES!"

"OH COME ON! LET ME PASS THROUGH THIS ONE! WHETHER IT'S AT MY HOUSE OR UNDER THE SHEETS, I'LL JOIN YOU, JUST LET ME WIN!"

"AREN'T YOU THE ONE WHO WON THOSE OTHER ROUNDS? ACTUALLY I DON'T CARE WHETHER IT'S AT YOUR HOUSE OR UNDERTHE SHEETS, WE'LL JUST SETTLE THIS AT YOSHIWARA!"

Gunshots filled the air. One shot. And another. And another. One after another, and until it became uncontrollably wild. The bystanders can only watch in awe as they stared at the two combatants who practically wiped out all the prizes at the poor shooting stall, and were now just trying to knock out the prizes which were taken by the other.

Actually, this poor shooting stall was not their first one. This would be their tenth stall, and of course, it wouldn't be their last.

When Gintoki brought upon the "declaration of war," they suddenly rushed off to the closest shooting stall and practically wiped out everything, leaving the poor stall owner on the verge of tears. Then, they tried another. And another. And another. Not being satisfied yet, they went on to other stalls, such as the fish scooping stall and the like. Gintoki idly remembered the flush that appeared on Tsukuyo's face when her scoop broke, just as when she was about to get her fifteenth goldfish. Of course, he did not miss to give his look of triumph, complete with his infamous deadpan snarking. After wiping out the entire stall's merchandise, they proceeded to the other one.

This same process continued on as they jumped from one stall to another. However, despite their concentration on their newfound rivalry akin to that China girl and that Shinsengumi sadist's rivalry, Gintoki cannot help but to observe Tsukuyo at the corner of his eye. He smiled to himself. Looking at her now, she'll be just like any other girl, he thought warily. I guess my plan was a success. She seemed to be enjoying herself now.

Sure, her tongue was still vicious and her smug face still appeared from time to time, but that didn't matter. For Gintoki, she was having the time of her life. After all that she had been put through, this may be the only time she laughed so hard or acted like a little kid, not actually caring if she's the leader of the Hyakka, or being the so-called "Courtesan of Death." Even after all those declarations of giving up her femininity, she was still a woman all along. She couldn't deny that fact. After all, didn't she get so messed up after doing that "puff-puff" action with him?

Gintoki's thoughts trailed off one after another as he and Tsukuyo walked the streets of Yoshiwara, looking for something fun to storm into.

"I guess Hinowa's plan worked after all, huh?"

"Huh?" asked Gintoki. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm only saying that your plan worked. I had fun."

Gintoki grumbled and scratched his head lightly. "Of course you did. I was the one you're with after all."

Tsukuyo, who was walking in front of him, stopped on her tracks and faced him, a sincere smile plastered on her face.

"I just wanna say thank you, that's all."

Gintoki just stared at her at the moment, his mouth agape, his eyes fixed on her, as if he was mesmerized by her for a second. He didn't know what happened. She just caught him off-guard.

He smiled back at her. "I didn't know you were capable of such actions."

"Well, I did now, didn't I?"

"I guess."

Gintoki waited for her reply but it didn't come. She just continued on walking, her back facing him, her head moving left and right from time to time, as if she was wary of something.

But Gintoki, being the lazy ass that he is, didn't take heed of this matter as he groaned to himself.

"Well, I guess keeping you away from all those booze did the job. Seriously, just stay away from those things, okay? And how come you had such a low tolerance for alcohol, huh? I can't even drink in peace now! Geez, and here at festivals, all I wanted was to take a sip out of my sake and gaze at the beautiful moon.."

He then noticed that Tsukuyo was looking suspiciously at everywhere in sight, akin to a warrior on a lookout for his enemies. He frowned.

"..Oi, are you even listening to me? What the hell do you think you're doing? And I thought you've said you had fun! Oi!"

Tsukuyo only gripped his arm and pulled him closer to her in response as they walked away from the main streets, only to go down towards a dark, deserted place – a dark mini-forest, to be exact. A trail of sweat trickled down his face.

"W—wait a second here.W-w-where the hell are we going? What are we supposed to be doing there? Oi! This isn't what I think this is, right? I am wrong, right?"

"Shut up for a minute, Gintoki. Make a noise and I'll kill you."

"M-make a noise? What are you talking about? Why would I make a noise? If you're referring to that, you'll be the one who'll be making a lot of noise! Oi… oi…!"

They then stopped on their tracks. Gintoki was about to continue on his ranting until he saw Tsukuyo remove her kimono. He froze on the spot.

"O-oi. W-w-why are you taking your clothes off? Are you finishing your job as a courtesan? Oi! I know that we didn't do anything like that the last time I was here because you've been beating me up senseless, but I ain't ready yet for that kind of beating! Are we supposed to do it here? OI!"

Tsukuyo only fixed her hair into its usual hairstyle, her haori long discarded on the ground.

"Ano.. Tayuu, don't take off that piece of clothing you have left, okay?" Gintoki nervously said, obviously pointing out to her usual attire which she still hasn't taken off. "Tayuu deserves her experience to be in the main halls of Yoshiwara, right? Not in the woods, right? Have some respect for the title Shinigami Tayuu! Oi! Tsukuyo-sama!"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP, GINTOKI! THEY'LL FIND US AND I CAN'T DO MY WORK HERE!"

"Work? You mean.. work? As in that kind of work? Oi! Let me go back there! Some wacko girlie here's gonna rape me! Kagura! Shinpachi! OOOII—"

He stopped ranting off when he noticed a kunai cross his head and hit a tree. He gulped soundly and turned to face Tsukuyo.

"P-please be gentle with me…"

"WHO'S GONNA BE GENTLE WITH YOU? STOP THINKING PERVERTED THOUGHTS DAMMIT! I JUST BROUGHT YOU HERE IN ORDER FOR YOU TO SEE THIS!"

"What? You're making me see your #$3 and #$#? TAYUU-SAMA, YOU'RE SO NICE!"

Smack!

Gintoki can only massage the bruises he received from Tsukuyo's beating as he managed to convince himself that there'll be no kind of intercourse happening that night.

"Then tayuu, what would your reason possibly be supposing you've brought me here?"

Tsukuyo then pointed to a suspicious truck wholly covered with a dirty cloth. He heard its engines roaring, so it must've meant that the truck was about to leave, and it was occupied. Either way, it is too suspicious. So that's what she meant, huh? Then why the excitement earlier?

Gintoki responded with a lazy grunt. "Oi, oi. I thought this was your free day? You're obviously working again, aren't you? What are they, thugs exporting illegal drugs? That kind of business again?"

"Sssh! Quiet!"

"You damn workaholic.. And here I thought I can enjoy a festival in peace.."

Tsukuyo glared daggers at him, which made him startled. "What?" he inquired, "Got a problem with me?"

"Look very closely," she stated, and pointed to a man carrying a big thing covered in cloth across his arms. Gintoki observed closely and saw that what he was carrying was a beat-up woman, probably a courtesan at Yoshiwara, and she was slid silently inside the truck. Gintoki can only gape in shock.

"W-what is this?"

"Probably women slave trade," explained Tsukuyo, who was now holding some kunai on her hands. "Despite us having our own freedom, some of our women were still chained by the traditions of the old Yoshiwara. Though it is a fact that men have to pay a dowry in order for a girl to be free of her chains out of this place, this is not necessarily true."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"As what I've explained earlier, the women of Yoshiwara are free to go as they please. However, there are still men, or worse, our own women who treat other courtesans as merchandise, and sell them as slaves to other factions. Even during the rule of Housen, this kind of thing exists."

"So, you mean those women were abducted?"

"Yes. And I also presume that it is beyond their knowledge, since they were obviously knocked out. Based on our investigations, women who were sold to Yoshiwara were brought here by that faction as well. They go by many names, but they are most likely a small group of merchants who were former members of the Sonnou-Joui faction."

"Sonnou-Joui faction? T-that's.."

"Ya know something?" asked Tsukuyo, who was kinda bothered when she noticed that Gintoki was somehow disturbed upon hearing the words Sonnou-Joui faction.

Strange enough, hearing about the Sonnou-Joui faction did ring a bell at Gintoki's thoughts. Yes, he was a former Joui, and there were different factions back there. Somehow, that faction made him feel a tinge of nostalgia – it's as if he heard that somewhere before, long, long ago, but he cannot remember it anymore.

But he shrugged it off anyway; it doesn't matter, especially not now.

He was a samurai. He followed his own bushido – it was against that code to just turn away when there's someone in trouble, and especially when they're helpless women.

He stood upright from their hiding, earning a gasp from the girl behind him. Jouishishi or whatever, he doesn't give a damn about any of that. He knew what he needed to do.

He took a step forward and took his bokuto out of his belt, the characters for Touya-ko clearly being reflected by the warm moonlight.

He was about to assail his attack when he was stopped by Tsukuyo.

"What do you think you're doing? I didn't bring you here to do this," she stated, her worry for the silver-haired man clearly showing off on her face. "We should observe first, when they let their guard down, we'll attack."

"Let their guard down? Don't you dare underestimate me. Have you forgotten who I am?"

Tsukuyo was at loss for words. He is right, after all. He's the savior of Yoshiwara; he's the one who freed her from the chains of her master, Jiraia. And besides, why did she even bring him here? Wasn't it to help her free her family from their sufferings?

She smiled in return. I believe in you, Gintoki.

"And besides," added Gintoki, "These guys already noticed us and were about to attack us anyway."

"Well then, at least allow me to fight alongside you, Savior-of-Yoshiwara-sama."

"Che. I bet even you alone can handle these weaklings alone," he stated flatly, and marched forward. Tsukuyo followed him suit.

They then attacked those suspicious men unconscious; with Tsukuyo using her skills with her kunai and Gintoki with his sword mastery, they are undefeatable. The fact that these grunts were complete weaklings did not help either. They just hit and hit and hit…their screams only echoed in the darkness.

The people inside the truck used the ruckus to their advantage and sped away.

"Tsukuyo! Take the women away! I'll handle this!"

"Got it!"

Tsukuyo gathered all the women in the place in a hurry and told them to go away from there. The girls ran without hesitation.

Tsukuyo bit her lip. "Shit. If only I had the Hyakka in here, this would be a piece of cake."

She was about to run towards Gintoki when she heard the screams of a woman whose neck was just a few centimeters away from a thug's knife.

"Please.. help me! I don't wanna die!"

"If you don't want this girl to die," the thug stated nervously, "then surrender to us."

Tsukuyo smirked in return. "As if. Don't underestimate me, you bastard."

She marched on and was about to assail the man when she felt a bullet hit her knee.

Damn it! They had guns!

She threw her kunai towards the gunmen and hit them, their guns dropping off the ground. But it didn't end there. An army of bullets rushed its way towards her, but she blocked it away with her kunai. However, one managed to hit her in the stomach. She then took the knife away from the thug and slashed him with it, making the unrestrained victim scream her lungs out and run away.

"That's good. Run as fast as you can," she whispered and was about to go and find Gintoki, but she was caught off of her tracks when she felt an electric jolt rush through her body. She collapsed.

Stun guns. Shit.

Gintoki, who was still chasing the truck, also fought some armed men a while ago and used their guns to shoot the truck's tires and make it immobilized, even for a second. It was a good thing that the truck didn't manage to move fast due to its heavy load, and when he was about to open the truck's door, he saw a bloodied Tsukuyo being carried down by the thugs. He then used his bokuto as a lever as he hit the driver unconscious, and jumped off the immobile truck.

"TSUKUYO!"

He attacked and fought the thugs, all of them ganging up on him. But he easily defeated them with just a clean, straight hit, and in a matter of seconds, almost all of the enemies were knocked out. Gintoki headed straight for the man holding Tsukuyo, knocked him out and was already heading out as he held Tsukuyo's unconscious body in his arms when the enemies' reinforcements suddenly came. Gintoki was about to fight them when suddenly they encircled him and Tsukuyo and at the same time, they rushed up on him.

It didn't matter to Gintoki if there were even thousands of people attacking him, as he would persevere through it all. However, like what happened with Tsukuyo, he was caught off guard as all of them carried weird-looking things on their hands, and all of them hit him with it all at the same time.

Stun belts. All of them used their stun belts to knock him out, but they failed. Gintoki pierced his bokuto through them and swatted them away with one hand, his other hand supporting Tsukuyo in his arms. But it was endless. There are others who got out of it again and attacked him with it, and when he was about to repeat what he did to them earlier, a bullet pierced through his hand, making him drop the bokuto in reflex and making him helpless the moment it fell down with a thud.

The thugs attacked him all at the same time again, Gintoki was about to fight back, but it was too late. His hand went numb and all of a sudden, he felt an electric jolt rush up through his body.

He fell on the ground, dragging Tsukuyo with him.

"..Y-you bastards.." he breathed, sucking for air.

The last thing he knew was that he and Tsukuyo were brought inside the truck, the sound of its engine filling his ears. He then lost his consciousness as the truck sped off its tracks, and went out of Yoshiwara.

『つづく』