Nagashima Ryoken. I look at the sign and look behind me out of habit. There is no one who knows me here so it is a bit superfluous that I do so. Stepping inside the Ryoken, I notice that although undeniably late, the place is steeming with guest at the lobby. My eyes glide to where a group of people are conversing, listening in particular for anyone with a Tokyo or a Yokohama accent. It?EUR(TM)s hard to discern though and the description Hide gave me earlier could be plastered to almost any passer by in the prefecture. I sigh?EUR? At least I ?EURdo- know he stays here and there are no trains heading out tonight until morning. Most of the trains are still in Tokyo heading here, so if Ogawa is leaving it will be tomorrow. It?EUR(TM)s a good thing, I?EUR(TM)ve paid attention to the train schedule, not that there was much of a choice.
Heading over to the counter I greet the attendant in a very agreeable manner.
I decide to use a Yokohama accent, no use in letting them know where I?EUR(TM)m really from?EUR?
?EURoeOi! Komban wa!?EUR? I smile and hide my eyes.
?EURoeGood evening sir. How can I help you??EUR?
Moving forward and settling my hand on the counter to support my face, my lips quirk even further and I close my eyes. ?EURoeMaa?EUR? I was just looking for a friend. He told me he?EUR(TM)d be here and will treat me to some sake.?EUR?
She looks at the clock across from the lobby and looks back at me. Her face contorts in a most dissatisfied manner before she turned away and mumbled ?EURoeGee?EUR? It?EUR(TM)s late?EUR? Just like that stupid man?EUR??EUR?
I tilt my head watching her, ?EURoeHai hai. Late it is?EUR? And that stupid man you are talking of?EUR? Medium height, short hair from Yokohama?EUR??EUR?
She waves her hands at me a bit nervously, ?EURoeNo.. I didn?EUR(TM)t mean he was stupid. I meant, uhhh?EUR? It?EUR(TM)s too late to drink and it?EUR(TM)s not good to drink til morning and have us haul guest up to their rooms?EUR?
?EURoeOh I see?EUR? So you are implying that ?EURI- am a worthless drunk who can?EUR(TM)t take care of himself??EUR? I say in a low but amused tone and take the coin purse from my hakama. I set it down on the counter for her to see. ?EURoeI have money. I can pay, unlike some of your other customers?EUR??EUR?
She looks at the coin purse and sighs once again mumbling, ?EURoeI don?EUR(TM)t care about that?EUR? Feh. I don?EUR(TM)t own this place anyway.?EUR?
?EURoeOh so you don?EUR(TM)t care?EUR??EUR? I sigh, ?EURoeToo bad you?EUR(TM)re not the owner?EUR??EUR?
Her eyes go wide. ?EURoeThat?EUR(TM)s not what I meant!?EUR?
?EURoeOh I?EUR(TM)m sure that?EUR(TM)s what you meant.?EUR? I smirk, too bad for her, I do have excellent hearing. ?EURoeNow now.. Just tell me where I can find my drinking buddies and I?EUR(TM)ll be on my way.?EUR?
?EURoeIt?EUR(TM)s just down the hallway turn left.?EUR? She answers once again in a mumble.
?EURoeHai hai. And this stupid man, do you have a message for him??EUR?
She bows her head, ?EURoeNo?EUR? No I didn?EUR(TM)t mean to say that. Please don?EUR(TM)t tell him.?EUR?
I chuckle as I remove my face from her flustered ones. ?EURoeI won?EUR(TM)t of course. If you give me what room he is staying at. I?EUR(TM)ll probably have to ?EURhaul- that old brute to save you the trouble when he passes out.?EUR?
She hesitates and shakes her head. Obviously I shall have to do a little bit more prodding on this girl.
?EURoeYare yare?EUR? He?EUR(TM)ll be so disappointed that such a loyal customer is treated in such a suspicious manner. He stays here a lot so I guess you and him shall meet again ne??EUR? I shrug and gave it a good old smirk.
?EURoeNo sir?EUR? Please?EUR??EUR? She sighs, ?EURoeAlright. He?EUR(TM)s at the second floor, the first room just beside the stairs. You can?EUR(TM)t miss it.?EUR?
?EURoeOh I won?EUR(TM)t and I think it will be your lucky day miss.?EUR? I smile, ?EURoeI won?EUR(TM)t breathe a word of how you insult your guest, unless of course you make it hard not to do so. Jaa!?EUR? I raise my hand and move towards the hallway. She doesn?EUR(TM)t seem like a slow woman, although she is easily manipulated I guess. Her dropped jaw though most certainly assures me that she?EUR(TM)ll not say a word that I did come here looking for Ogawa. After all, if she did then her job will be on the line.
May 1 Late Night – May 2nd 1885 – Ogawa Arima
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?EURoeOgawa Arima isn?EUR(TM)t it??EUR? I ask as the man who just entered the room spun around. It?EUR(TM)s dark but I know he sees my eyes that just burns a deep hatred for the man. I?EUR(TM)ve not smoked yet so as not to disturb the air.
?EURoeHow did you get in here??EUR? He ask, it looks like the sake?EUR(TM)s not had taken a hold of him yet but he does reek of it. Which only tells me he has a high tolerance for it.
?EURoeThe door was open.?EUR? I lie.
?EURoeWho are you??EUR?
?EURoeYou don?EUR(TM)t need to know that.?EUR? I rise and take the katana that?EUR(TM)s hidden behind my back. ?EURoeI?EUR(TM)m here to seek retribution and to get rid of scum like you.?EUR?
He laughs and my eyes narrow.
?EURoeIf it?EUR(TM)s the girl you are talking about. Just like I told everyone, I did not rape her. She?EUR(TM)s paid for anyway.?EUR?
My mind at once registers the case that Niishimi-kun talked about early that evening. If that?EUR(TM)s the first thing that registers in his mind?EUR? A case more than a year ago, then does he really expect me to believe him?
?EURoeAccept your sentence Arima.?EUR? I flick my katana slightly letting it?EUR(TM)s blade gleam by the moonlight.
?EURoeYou?EUR(TM)ll fight an unarmed man??EUR? He shows me both his hands and I scowl. Although I am a manslayer?EUR? I hate not fighting fair and square.
?EURoeWe?EUR(TM)ll do it by fist then. Follow me.?EUR? I walk past him, slowing slightly just to see if he?EUR(TM)ll take the opportunity to whack me at the back. He didn?EUR(TM)t and instead we exit the Ryoken unhindered.
Interesting?EUR? I wonder why?EUR? He seems confident.
After we get into a clearing somewhere in the middle of the woods, I stop and laid down the nippontou. I hear him crack his muscles behind me and I turn around eyeing him from head to toe. A much bigger man than myself, stocky and muscled. Cocky?EUR? For him to think that he actually has a chance if it is a duel of strength. I smirk and tilt my head.
?EURoeConfident are you??EUR?
?EURoeI do not lose a fight.?EUR?
He laughs, ?EURoeLet?EUR(TM)s begin.?EUR?
He bullets to my right and I am surprised at how agile he is. His knuckles barely miss my shoulder, but I have no chance to react as he turned and buried his left fist to my side. A clean hit and it elicits a grunt out of me. What the hell is this?
His fist starts a barrage of punches and I start blocking them with my forearms. Each hit producing a thud and a crack on my bones?EUR? It feels surreal, it takes me back to the time I fought the fighter for hire Zanza, but somehow not in the same manner as each of Arima?EUR(TM)s hit although unclean starts to wear at my muscles.
?EURoeOld man?EUR?.?EUR? He laughs and continues his attack, ?EURoeYou need to choose weaker opponents.. Or maybe not sailor men like myself.?EUR?
Annoyed, I took my left guard and start a rain of one handed punches towards his side. I see him tremor slightly and I grin. ?EURoeNot bad for an old wolf ne Arima??EUR?
?EURoeBastard!?EUR? He grabs hold of my neck and I can feel his hand trying to crush my windpipe. His right hand started to bang the side of my head and I can feel my face swe;ling and blood slipping from the cut that is busted open on my cheek. My eyes started to close and my head started to swim in confusion. Was I ever this weak, it was only six years ago? Waking myself up, I instinctively buried my knee deep into his stomach making him bend down in pain and drop me to the dirt.
Grabbing him by the collar both my hands claim his neck in an effort to strangle him. One of his hands dig into the dirt and he slapped that over my eyes that I cannot see anything. Wiping the dirt off, I knew I was wide open and as expected another bout of punches landed clean to my sides before one very strong one hit my bad shoulder and I stumbled.
?EURoeYour shoulder hurting old man??EUR? He laughs and it?EUR(TM)s then that I lost it. All sorts of restrain I gave away and at once, I felt the familiar surge of strength when I dealt with scums. All the training in the Keishikan in Aiku-jutsu revealed themselves to me and my body remembered them well enough. Two hits to his side combined with a pull to his arms, landing my knees dead center on his stomach. He throws up spit and blood at the same time. My anger overflows my senses as I elbowed his face several times and repeated his antics earlier, making sure that side of his face was just as grotesque as I had imagined mine to be earlier. He falls to the ground and I pounce on him like a wild animal.
Sleep damn it!
But he?EUR(TM)s one stubborn moron and each time I would hit his face, he?EUR(TM)d answer back with a deliberate pummel to my bad shoulder, he of course knows my weak spot. I showed it to him earlier and all is fair in war. But what he doesn?EUR(TM)t know is my tolerance to pain is higher in this fight. All the years of fighting will train you in such a manner, so I ignored the nagging pain to my right and the pain to my sides as he slugs them continuously with one hand and his knee.
Sleep!
His punches are now weaker until I can no longer feel them. Slowly my vision clears and I can see his battered face and his one eye crushed. My breathing slows down and I try to calm myself. He?EUR(TM)s still alive?EUR? I let go of his collar and at once I can feel the effects of the beatings my body received earlier. But it?EUR(TM)s done. I?EUR(TM)ve gotten what I came for.
?EURoeThat will teach you to be careful next time?EUR? Be careful of those whom you cross.?EUR? I get up and wipe the blood from the cut on my cheek and I my eyes wince at the bruise there. Taking the nippontou, I walked only a few paces away when I hear the ruffles of his feet.
Ahou?EUR? I told you to go to sleep?EUR?
I see a tanto heading for my side and I move to the right and dropped the nippontou. Grabbing his hand with my right, I pull him to land at my left elbow. A clean hit to the windpipe and I knew by then it was crushed.
Do you really want me to kill you?
He croaks?EUR? ?EURoeOld man. I will get everyone around you for this.?EUR? He said as he falls to the ground.
My eyes flashes in anger and I take the tanto from his hand.
I shall have to kill you.
Throwing him to the ground, I straddle him and raise the dagger and he looks at it.
?EURoeNo don?EUR(TM)t.. I didn?EUR(TM)t mean it.?EUR?
I cannot hear him?EUR? My ears they ring as if it was raining.
?EURoeI?EUR(TM)m sorry! I didn?EUR(TM)t mean it! The girl?EUR? It was a long time ago.?EUR?
I bring the knife closer and pull on his right hand. I bury the tanto right in the middle and he cries.
?EURoeSumanai! Sumanai! Don?EUR(TM)t!?EUR?
Pulling on the tanto, I rip the muscles and cartilage in his right hand. Then I remembered something the yakuza used to do when I was younger?EUR? When I was still in the yakuza. I smirk and just like back then I cut off three of his fingers?EUR? Running the blade from the base of his thumb to the middle finger. Let?EUR(TM)s see if you can ever handle a blade?EUR? He screams and I smirk. I bring the tanto up to his throat?EUR?
?EURoeDo you want to die??EUR? I ask?EUR? I am not waiting for him to beg for his life, although this brings back memories?EUR? When I was a judge and executioner at once.. When the Keishikan had a use for me.
?EURoeNo?EUR? I beg of you.?EUR?
His eyes are tearing and I look at the fingers laying beside it?EUR(TM)s owner.
Usui?EUR? He never begged for his life?EUR? And this scum, expects me to spare it. I laugh at that and stared closely into those frightened eyes.. He doesn?EUR(TM)t deserve them either, so I bring the tip of the blade directly over one eye.
?EURoeThis will hurt?EUR? It is time you pay.?EUR?
?EURoeI?EUR(TM)ll confess?EUR? I?EUR(TM)ll confess.. I did it. I?EUR(TM)ll turn myself in.. Please don?EUR(TM)t.?EUR?
I laugh even harder this time. ?EURoeIt doesn?EUR(TM)t matter?EUR??EUR? All that matters is that you die. All evil in this world must be suppressed and quickly?EUR?
Gliding the blade from one corner of his eyelid, he screams once again?EUR? His eye and the veins in it popping out from one of his eye socket.
And now to finish my work?EUR?
I bring the knife to his throat?EUR? To bleed to death, is one of the more painful ways to die?EUR?
?EURoeSuma?EUR? Honto?EUR??EUR? I think he is crying but I can?EUR(TM)t tell?EUR? Are those tears mixed with blood. ?EURoeI didn?EUR(TM)t mean to do it?EUR??EUR?
?EURoeToo bad?EUR??EUR? I tell him and smirked deeper. My left hand tracing where I should bury the tip.
“Saitou-kun! Why are you smiling? You fool! Don’t take killing lightly!”
“Kyokuchou?EUR? He?EUR(TM)s scum?EUR? We have no need for the likes of him.” I grin.
“Do not take pleasure in killing Saitou-kun!” His eyes are they angry?
My eyes narrow and I swallow hard. A long time ago?EUR? He reprimanded me?EUR? I shake my head?EUR? No.. That was a long time ago.. I am no longer Saitou Hajime?EUR? I grip the tanto harder and place it against his skin as he begged for his life once again?EUR? My vision blurs?EUR?
?EUR?Fujita Goro, you?EUR(TM)ll be assigned as an Assistant Police Inspector?EUR??EUR?
?EURoeThank you Okubo-san. ?EURoe A new name?EUR? A way to move as a Shinsengumi in the Meiji era.
?EURoeOf course, that?EUR(TM)s only a front.?EUR? He smiles, ?EURoeI?EUR(TM)ll be expecting a lot out of you. You have after all a reputation to live up to.?EUR?
?EURoeYes of course.?EUR?
Gritting my teeth, I bend down and grabbed Arima?EUR(TM)s collar. I spat on his face.
Damn it?EUR? Who are you? This time are you sure of this man? Does he fulfill the code? The system… Does it work?
Taking one look at the bastard. I pull him up and rip a part of his kimono, telling him to wrap his blinded eye. My head throbs and once again it is raining… But no not really.
?EURoeDo not come back here?EUR?” I hiss, keeping to a stand still. If I move I will inflict another blow to this ahou. “Take the train to Yokohama and do not come back here or I ?EURwill- find a way to kill you.?EUR?
OOC: Exits to here