Saitou:
I stayed for a couple of hours drinking sake in the private room. When it was apparent that Miyagawa wasn’t leaving until morning, I had the girl give me some head and I left afterwards. That should be enough. I couldn’t or rather -wouldn’t-, especially not with a young juuyo like that. These gentlemen clubs are a step down from the sanctioned brothel houses in the pleasure districts. There the women are “tested” before they work, these days it’s a requirement of the police and back then in Edo, endorsed by the Shogunate. But these places? Who just accepts -any- girl as long as she’s pretty enough or in her case young enough? Establishments like these outside Yoshiwara disguising itself as some “Club” and yet is nothing more than a whore house bringing with it much abuse and disease. Besides if I’m having a prostitute, I’d rather it be just one. The one I left with Miyagawa. The irony however doesn’t escape me. I’ll have to check on her later after I get some sleep.
Now I’m back in the Row houses this early morning. It’s quietest at dawn when there’s no ruffians around, they’re all passed out from drinking and gambling all night. While the normal inhabitants of the Row houses are still sleeping but will wake up later to go to work. Unfortunately there’s far too few normal neighbors here. I wonder what time that -boy- goes to work at the Hot Pot place? Not that I want to see him but I do owe him money, that scarf isn’t enough of a payment for the work he did. Besides… I didn’t mean to give it to him. And that’s why I shouldn’t drink. It clouds the judgment. But I guess it doesn’t matter now. I don’t even know why I asked that boy what Hide said about me. It doesn’t matter, not anymore. I light a cigarette and sit on the engawa. Later after I check up on Aioi, I’ll have to go to the HQ and see if Miyagawa has sent the information on “Madame Yasutake”… But he seems like a lackadasial man that I may not receive the information I need immediately. I hope I’m wrong and this doesn’t take more than a day or two. I can’t act -swiftly- until then. Suddenly I’m reminded of -him- from years ago, where he chided me for being impatient but I’m only impatient because of my justice.
(OOC: Saitou will stay at Ruffians Row until he goes about to check up on things.)
“Yo.” I greet her and stand by the door smoking.
“Hello Hajime-han.” She greets me but goes back to the mirror removing the white make up from her face. She’s back to fixing her hair. I asked her to play the Tayu last night and she did do a good job. Maybe too good if he stayed with her till dawn. She cleans her neck, under her chin and then slightly behind her ears. She also does the her neck at the back.
“You missed a spot.” I say.
“Here.” She gives me the small towel and I wipe the rest of the white paint from the nape of her neck. A long time ago in Ito, I watched Hide fix herself up and I think I helped with setting her hair. But that seems like an eternity already and since coming back to Tokyo never happened again.
“I’ll send for Miyagawa soon.” She tells me. “You want to get him already don’t you?”
Odd. She goes right to the job at hand. Usually there’d be a little teasing going on but she must be tired. So the swine must’ve used her all night. And I remember how much I want this swine -dead- but for now… “Not yet. He’s supposed to get me something.”
She turns to me and smiles, “Alright Hajime-han. I suppose I’ll have to keep going to the Hachirou until then.” She shrugs and I merely look at her. I want to tell her it will be the last. She can be free after this. Free to go wherever she wants to go. After all what is there for her -here- with me?
“Yes but only to keep up appearances.” I say and go by the window to drag more on my cigarette. She and I know what keeping appearances mean. She’ll have to entertain others or even the same pig as last night.
She looks at me and smiles with a bit of melancholy. I wonder, what is she thinking? Her past as a legendary Tayu in Shimabara and all the trappings and fanfare that went along with it? But this and the others I’ve sent her to was -nothing- like that, where when she walked to the Sumi-ya she had many helpers both men and women. And the samurai like myself looked on from a distance admiring her and wondered what it would be like to be invited in. Others like the Commander and Hijikata-san were able to pay their way in with the other Tayu but I could not pay the high price of admission for this one. And yet today the Tayu does my bidding whether for my relief or my justice.
“Did he say what he’ll be sending to you?” She asks and then suddenly yawns covering her mouth. And I stare at her, suddenly feeling regretful that I did that. But when did I care about what she did -ever-? In the years when Hide was gone and I was in a loveless marriage, I filled my time with Aioi whenever I needed. It was convenient and a devil that I already knew. But when I lost my memories, I completely forgot about her, faced with the possibility of capturing an old promise for the future with Hide and our daughter, they the ones in Ito, was all that mattered to me. But I couldn’t protect her life in Ito and so were forced to come back to Tokyo not knowing or rather remembering all the baggage I had left here. Banishing my wife to Aizu and failing to remember I had sent Aioi as an operative in Yoshiwara until I met her again as I tried to close that case. But before none of those things would bother me and now I’m wondering, what has changed? Have I become soft? If so why? I still despise my ex-wife that much I know after seeing her again in Aizu. But I don’t despise Aioi, not at all. But what is she to me? And for a moment I smile wryly thinking of Hide’s words, of complicated feelings and the strings that go along with it.
“Hajime-han?” She prompts me and I realize I’ve lived in my head again. I -must- stop doing that. Between the drinking and ruminating I’m not sure what’s worse. Maybe I should get back to Tenma? Whatever his concoctions were at least made me stable.
I take a last puff on my cig and threw the butt out the window. “He’s going to tell me where that Mama-san is.”
I’m surprised that Miyagawa has unknowingly led Hajime to his main target. I thought the entrapment was to get this information out of Miyagawa. “Ah so I only need to keep up appearances until you get this information.” I can’t help but smile and feel pleased at this development. I wouldn’t mind not being stuck in a room with the likes of him anymore. “So that’s it for him then. Then you’ll not need me for this Mama-san.”
“No.” His eyes suddenly becomes hard and with a scowl he answered, “We’re still going to go on with our original plan.”
I’m stunned but I have the wherewithals not to question him right now, while that scary look on his face is still there. He’s still doing this for her isn’t he? Does he blame these people for the breakdown of his relationship with that Princess of his?
I feign a smile, “I can’t wait.”
It was said that the headless body of Tanaka was found in the man made tunnels that were supposed to be his escape route from his own estate. And though there was a small army in that estate Hajime still managed to find and kill him. The fact that the head was taken and is nowhere to be found, doesn’t fit his usual assassinations. I knew it was a long term case that had eluded him for a few years, but something felt off. Thankfully there was in fact a few of us prostitutes there and it -was- in fact a human trafficking ring that the Kyoto police was able to apprehend those involved. Hajime must’ve had some allies who protected him as a story came out that the one who killed Tanaka was an aggrieved party related to one of the juuyo.
What Hajime told me before is that the concern was the arms dealing of Tanaka’s now deceased brother Todoku who helped Tanaka escape from Kobato prison several years ago and since then several attempts were made to Hajime’s life. One almost did him in but he was lucky to survive though i didn’t see him again for almost a year!
This Tanaka was rebuilding his brother’s arms smuggling business and the prositution ring was just another front. Much like, Tanaka was using that buffoon Imai to start trouble in the Red Light District so that Tanaka could sell armaments to the Yakuza while at the same time using those disgruntled samurai as cover. So those high flying visitors who were visiting Tanaka’s estate back then and having their “fun”… None of the high flying visitors were ever charged and among them was Miyagawa. But all those events happened -before- his Princess’ abduction, so that doesn’t explain the cruelty behind Tanaka’s killing.
I glance at the man who’s mood has now turned sour and is chain smoking like a fiend. He’s become even more harder to read now and unlike back then where he would share information with me, he hasn’t done that lately. What’s driving you Mibu no Ookami?