Heh?EUR? This house with it?EUR(TM)s low fence is easy to get into. Picking the lock, I slide it open quietly. Not that we need it. The boss did say no one was going to come here and all we had to do is?EUR?
I grin at the others and tell them to come in. Looking up there?EUR(TM)s a stairway and we head up. Hmmm two doors.
?EURoeSearch that one and I?EUR(TM)ll see what?EUR(TM)s on the other end. Find the girl.?EUR? Taking out my gun, I proceed to the furthest room. One can never be too prepared.
Late Night: Uninvited Guests
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Someone opened my door earlier. Was it Yamaguchi-san? But why would he be here? I didn’t really get back to sleep after that.
The door slid open again and I look over. Did he come back? “Yamaguchi-”
There’s two people, and they don’t look like anyone…
“Who are you?” I yell. Where’s Okaasan?
I hear Makoto’s yell before anything else.
Who?
I glance around, trying to see what’s going on in the darkness. There is a man in the doorway.
Why is my daughter screaming?
“Little girl. I’ll tell you right now that you better learn to be quiet or I’ll tell my buddy in the other room what to do with your “okaasan”.” I move forward while I motion my partner to guard the door.
“Come now. If you come with us, we’ll make sure your okaasan doesn’t get hurt ne?” I wait for her to come close. “If you don’t come with us… Then it will be your fault if your mother gets hurt.” I shrug and try to look sympathetic.
I manage to close the door before the woman got up. Then I move in on her slowly.
“Don’t worry we won’t hurt you if you decide to cooperate.” I play with the gun in my hand. “Are these sheets any good?” I tug at it. I’m going to have to gag her.
These are bad men. And bad men lie.
Just like the stories Asuka-san was telling me.
I frown at them, standing up and taking a step back. I hear Okaasan’s voice. “Okaasan…”
They can’t hurt her they can’t they can’t
“It’s not my fault that you’re bad men!” I yell. Where is she? She should be coming in and telling me this is all a bad dream.
I’m going to go get her. Wake me up…
I run at the first man, and then away, going for the door. Darting and faking just like Night and Day. Wake me up Okaasan…
I feel underneath my futon…
Nothing… where is it? They were all taken from me…
I shift over to the side, looking frantically around the room… nothing… wishing frantically that I could just summon Hajime, scream across the universes. I stand up, propping myself up on the vanity, my knees weak. My hand looking for something stronger than a hairpin.
run and scream
Makoto… I hear her in the other room and my blood runs cold. “Bring me my daughter.” His gun glints in the low light. His comment about sheets.
My hand lands on the box of loose powder, open. Remembering something… I grab it and fling the contents at the man’s face, powder flying across the room as I make a run for the door.
“Damn it!” I curse as some of the powder hits my eye. I see the onna run for the door and I throw the same box forcefully on her head. This woman is pissing me off!
“Grab the girl NOW!” I shout across the room. One little girl isn’t going to get away from us. Piece of cake of course and within moments they have her lifted up by the armpits and a hand covering her mouth.
“Now woman. If you make a move, I promise you we’ll do more than just that to your daughter.” I rip a part one of the sheets and grab her arm towards her back. “You should know better than to resist me.”
The powder box hits my head and I only flinch as I try to move but as I’m at the doorway. I feel it break the skin.
They have Makoto
My arm being wrenched behind me and the ripping of sheets. All of it barely registers, only the sight of my Makoto.
Makoto’s eyes are wild and scared, and at the sight of me she stops squirming and stares at me. Trying to shout through the hand over her mouth.
“Makoto…”
“Don’t hurt her,” I say, as I feel blood begin to flow down my neck from where the box hit, but I don’t tear my eyes from my little girl.
In no time I have the small woman gagged and bound to a chair. I wait for them to gag the girl who seems to squirm every moment she gets. How annoying.
?EURoeThis good enough boss??EUR?
?EURoeYes that?EUR(TM)s fine.?EUR? I look outside. The carriage is still there and so I don?EUR(TM)t see Kazui. The bastard is probably taking a leak, when I?EUR(TM)ve told him specifically to stand guard outside. Well at least we got what we came for?EUR? Tanaka better pay us well. Heh?EUR? But this was an easy job.
?EURoeTie her hands behind her back.?EUR? I tell Hayato.
Then I turn to the woman, ?EURoeOnna you?EUR(TM)re bleeding but you deserved it. It still stings you know??EUR? I grin and run my tongue over her neck, just shy of the dripping blood. ?EURoeWe?EUR(TM)re in a hurry, otherwise I?EUR(TM)d keep you company.?EUR?
I stand up, ?EURoeAnd my boss Tanaka said?EUR? Thank the cop, Fujita Goro for this. Heh, I still can?EUR(TM)t believe Tanaka said he was some sort of Shinsengumi Captain. I find that hard to believe.?EUR? I laugh at her face. ?EURoeMaa?EUR? Maybe he is if he?EUR(TM)s let you get involve in this ne??EUR?
I slide my hand into her kimono and grin. Giving it one last squeeze before heading out the door.
His stupid words… but I remember the names. Tanaka. Tanaka.
He speaks of Hajime… they have no idea…
I turn my head to see…
MAKOTO
The last I see her, one of those men carrying her. I can hear her making sounds through her gags. Is she trying to yell? To cry? My chest feels as if it’s crushing in, I can barely breathe. It barely registers as he touches me. Do what they will but not…
makoto…
As he leaves, I begin to tug at the sheets that tie me, and twist my head around to try to free my mouth.
“OKAASAN!” I try to yell but there’s cloth in my mouth. The man is holding me so tight I can’t move and I just look at my mother… tied to a chair, blood on her face.
The other man talks a lot. Fujita Goro and Tanaka and the Shinsengumi and he’s touching her… I try to scream again but nothing comes out.
Then they start to take me away, down the stairs. I try to look at her again but it’s too late.
Coming up the hill, I see a carriage parked just to the side. I stop a few meters back and tie the horse to a tree. Sneaking up to one of the walls, it seems to be quiet but earlier I saw the lights at the living room was open, it was closed when I left. Of course there?EUR(TM)s someone in there. There is a man standing to a corner who seems to be half asleep?EUR? Just my luck. Crouching, I head for the back of the carriage. He?EUR(TM)s snoring?EUR? I wonder how long they?EUR(TM)ve been here.
Hitting him on the neck with the handle of my katana he falls to the ground. My hands burn to drive my blade into his neck, but I can?EUR(TM)t. I need him clean. Stripping him of his clothes, I change into them and then bound him with my own jacket. Half of me wants to just charge in?EUR? But that would be foolish. Just as Tanaka says, he plans to torture me and he won?EUR(TM)t get that satisfaction if?EUR? But still I can?EUR(TM)t rid my mind of the horrific possibilities that are occurring in that house. I scale a wall to look inside and I see they have Makoto. But where is Hide? I could jump in and take out the two immediately, but the first has a gun.
Quickly I don the driver?EUR(TM)s cap and hung my head low. Hopefully my cover is not blown, these clothes seem a bit loose?EUR?
The man who seems to be the leader of the group comes out first.
?EURoeKazui!?EUR? He sneers, ?EURoeI told you to stand watch.?EUR?
I bow my head and utter a sorry.
?EURoeWe?EUR(TM)ve got the girl.?EUR?
My hand shakes at the hilt of the hidden sword. Not yet?EUR? When I secure Makoto then I can?EUR?
I open the door precisely such that he doesn?EUR(TM)t get on first. The two men came carrying my daughter in such an awkward fashion, I can almost see their blasted fingers giving her bruises. He half drags and throws Makoto inside and as soon as her legs are inside, I slam the carriage door close pinning his hand in between.
?EURoeWhat the hell!?EUR? The other man curses and I kick the other to close the door and window. I can?EUR(TM)t draw my sword in such an awkward position but I did manage to throw my saya at the horse and it bolted to a gallop.
As I turned around and drew my nippontou, the leader had manage to shoot his gun right in time as I impaled my sword into his comrades stomach. One man down, I tell myself as I fall backwards. The idiot got me on the side of my stomach. Another group of shots, sent me rolling on the ground to avoid them.
?EURoeGet the woman!?EUR? He shouts and I see the ahou scramble to his feet to get inside. Taking the dead man as my shield, I charge towards the gunman. Pushing the lifeless body on him, he tumbles and seize the opportunity to grab his wrist and slam it at the dirt to get the damned gun out of his hands.
?EURoeI can take you in for questioning,?EUR? I say just loud enough for the two of them to hear, ?EURoebut I?EUR(TM)d rather kill you right now.?EUR? I look at the smaller man by the gates before driving my katana in between his comrades eyes. ?EURoeYou?EUR(TM)ll be next if you take a ?EUR“step- further.?EUR?
I tell him this?EUR? And he stops in his tracks.
?EURoeAlright?EUR? Alright?EUR? I won?EUR(TM)t?EUR??EUR?
Walking towards him, I pass him slowly then bury my sword in his gut, splitting it wide open. I show him my face one last time and wait until he slides off my blade.
I look at the door and around the length of the engawa, then to my blade.
Makoto?EUR? I need to?EUR?
But I don?EUR(TM)t run after her right away, instead I drag the bloodied bodies outside to where the other man still lay unconscious. It will be a rude awakening for him, just like it was for me. I sheathe my katana and look down. I didn?EUR(TM)t notice the pain earlier and not now either. Getting up my horse was difficult but I need to catch that carriage.
Thank kami?EUR? It didn?EUR(TM)t go too far, just a few blocks closer to the beach. I get off the horse and open the door.
?EURoeMakoto?EUR??EUR? Getting her out of the carriage, I take the gag from her mouth and her bindings. What kind of man am I? My daughter is shaking…
?EURoeDid they hurt you??EUR? I ask and check for signs of injury.
“OKAASAN!” I keep trying to scream as they carry me outside. It hurts where they hold me…
In a carriage… where am I going?
All of of a sudden the door slams behind me and I can hear the man yell, and then I’m moving… being rattled around the carriage as I try to curl up on the floor.
Then it stops and I begin to shake, scared. They got me again… but a voice says my name, picking me up and untying me. I blink at him, my eyes stinging. My head hurts.
It’s Yamaguchi-san. It really is and I just want to start crying.
Did they hurt you?
I hold onto his shirt. “They shoved me around but Okaasan…” I gulp in air. “They tied her up too.” Trying to remember the rest but not wanting to. I bury my face in his chest.
Stupid stupid stupid… I can’t get free…
And they have Makoto… I hear a carriage roll off and I’m almost overcome with dispair… to slump over and cry…
NO NO NO My daughter -needs- me. I will NOT lay on this floor and cry… I will get free and get Hajime and those men…
I hear voices from outside and downstairs, muffled, but I can’t tell anything…
Free. Then Hajime. Focus, focus, I tell myself as manage to get the ties to slack some… don’t think. Just -go-.
“They shoved me around but Okaasan…”
“Shhh… It will be fine.” I take a moment to pat her hair. All the while knowing, I really don’t have time to be doing this. Hide is still there and I have to get to Saya.
“We’re going to take the carriage alright? You can sit with me on the front.”
I need to get them out of here. Picking up my daughter, I hoist her up with a grunt and then get on the driver’s side. Slapping the horse, we make our way back to the house.
We pull up to the house and I carry Makoto, keeping her head close to my chest so she doesn’t see what a mess I’ve made of her mother’s garden. Of course the smell is enough to turn ones stomach, but at least… I manage to get her inside without incident and placed her on the floor.
“Stay.” I tell her and head over to her mother. I see she’s hurt and untie her first, then check her eyes for dilation.
“Hide?” I brush her hair back slightly and notice her kimono is not in the right place. I shake my head. “There’s a carriage outside. I need to drop you off at the Precinct. It should be safer there.”
Should be… I look down and think, Kyo was supposed to be. No. I have no choice.
My arms ache from pulling… then I hear the carriage return, and footsteps and I freeze in my efforts.
No… they can’t be back. I feel myself tense, if that man has returned for… I close my eyes tight.
But its a familiar voice I hear, and of something being set down. Something small like a child, and I open my eyes to see both Hajime and our daughter.
Hide?
“Hajime…” I breathe his name as Makoto comes over to me. “Makoto…” Her eyes asking the question that he didn’t speak out loud either. “Just a bump on the head,” I assure her as I look over her, trying to see that she’s not injured. Scared… just so scared, I can see it in her eyes.
Our daughter clings to me and her shoulders start to shake… “Oh, our brave girl,” I whisper to her, as I seek comfort in her and in him, reaching over towards him. He speaks of dropping us off at the Precinct and I wonder what else is going on this night, and I suddenly have a terrible feeling about Saya. That Makoto and I weren’t the only targets.
Quietly, I ask, “just hold us for a moment before we go,” I look down at Makoto, still holding back sobs and then up at him as I stand, wanting -away- from that chair. “We need that.” The things that cannot be simply said… I need some of that strength that I find in him before this night is done. My hand encounters something wet at his side. “Are you injured?” I ask in a lower voice.
“just hold us for a moment before we go,”
Hold them? I can feel my eyes narrow. There’s no time for this but I give in. I look at both of them at how scared they are and grit my teeth and let go.
“Come. It’s not safe here.” I decide not to answer her question. That would only slow me down and I’m already gasping for air. I should say something… Something more apologetic but I can’t find the words as my anger increases every minute. I pick up Makoto and hide her face again as I walk out and set her down inside the carriage.
“Go inside.” I tell Hide, waiting for her so I can close the door. This was the life Tokio did not want, never experienced before, but Hide did tonight. What an irony.
He does as I ask but I see his eyes narrow. I can’t sense ki but the anger coming off of him is obvious, and my reqest only delays him. But there’s so much I need to say to him now and no time to say it.
I know better, and do not protest as he lets go. It was too much to even ask at a time like this.
He tells me that it’s not safe at my house and I nod. I see the men laying out in my garden, and as terrible as the sight is it is a fitting end for the men that terrorized my daughter and I. I do not flinch, but I am glad Hajime keeps Makoto’s face close to his chest so she does not see.
“Drop us off and I’ll explain what I need to them.” I tell him as we leave my house, “then go on.” I won’t say Saya’s name, afraid of how Makoto will react if she thinks her dear aunt is also in danger as I fear her to be. I meet his eyes as I step up into the carriage, “we’ll be fine and waiting for you.” My eyes are calm and assured. I need to be, for him and Makoto.
I need him badly but this is a time that other things come first. Things I have always understood, even before Hajime, things that I learned from my mother, by her words and her actions. Things only reinforced by what I saw happening in my own home over twenty years ago.
Inside the carriage I try to calm Makoto down, but she’s a strong girl, even for one so young, that it doesn’t take too long to where her crying stops and she’s no longer shaking. “You’re a good girl, the women who came before you would be proud,” I tell her, brushing her hair back, remembering my mother on a night a long time ago. She’s too young to hear the story of Serizawa’s end but one day I’ll tell her.
“Drop us off and I’ll explain what I need to them.” “then go on.”
I help her up watching how dark it is inside. Closing the door, I open the window in one motion then leave for the driver?EUR(TM)s seat. I?EUR(TM)m starting to see doubles after getting myself up to the high seat. Taking the bridle, I whip the horses?EUR(TM) back.
Heading inside the courtyard, I wait for the two to come out as I unclasp the rigs that hold the horse and carriage in place. Speed is essential.
?EURoeRun inside. Do not leave with anyone except the Captain and only if he bears word from me. If you need anything drop my name Fujita.?EUR? I string the words together somehow in between of half-breaths and pants. I can?EUR(TM)t look at them as I get on the bareback of the horse.
?EURoeBe ?EUR“calm-.?EUR? I?EUR(TM)d tell her not to turn hysterical, just like when I saw her and Makoto earlier but that is probably too much to ask. But how many people have I seen panic and lose their lives in turn? Too many. I wonder if she remembers what I told her a long time ago. That to never hesitate to run?EUR? To that I should?EUR(TM)ve added, when captured do not resist.
Speeding off I head for the train station, my head is so low it touches the horse’s mane.
He tells me to be calm and I nod, “take care.”
I take Makoto by the hand and lead her inside, she follows, looking slightly dazed and confused. We’ve never had reason to come to the police station. Of course I know the local police here by sight but I’ve never had need to use them.
Inside I find a place that’s mostly deserted, save for a younger looking man sitting impatiently at a desk. “Who are you?” he asks, crossly. I’ve not seen him before in town and given the events of tonight I’m nervous.
I look around the room. “I need to see the captain. And send someone for Dr. Shinmoku.” I can’t tend to my own head wound and I want him to look over Makoto… and we should have a doctor here for when Hajime returns…
The man smirks slightly, looking me over. “Rough night, eh?” He shrugs and leans back in his chair. “The captains dealing with a disturbance at the train station, you should go home or to an inn. If your man roughed you up we can deal with it in the morning.”
I narrow my eyes in anger and frustration. My daughter is terrified, I am injured, and Hajime is off to who knows what, injured himself to possibly Saya…
“My fianc?(C)e, Inspector Fujita Goro of the TMPD has sent me here for protection,” I stare at him, coldly, my voice controlled but firm. I am -not- going to be pushed around, not after this. I have to hold up this corner of the universe, and I think rapidly, looking around the room. My eyes focus on a two cells, one is empty; the other has a sleeping man in it. “I need the key to the far cell.” I will keep us safe even if this fool is as incompetent as he acts. Makoto tugs on my sleeve, and I add, “and a blanket and some water.” Tea would be better but I can’t be careful and ask for too much. Just the basics. Keep us alive, keep us safe.
“What do you want in the cells for?” He looks over at me, holding out the keys, but he looked visibly cowed at the mention of Hajime’s name.
I take Makoto by the hand, “this is an adventure,” I tell her, wanting her to stop looking at me with such big eyes. I lead her over and lock the door behind us, and tuck the keys in the sleeve of my yukata. Cells keep prisoners in but can also keep people -out-. Well, except for guns… but there’s not much to do with that. I think of the gunshots I heard earlier… is that what got Hajime? I shiver slightly.
I settle her down and lock the door after the night clerk brings me the items I requested. I sit next to her on the futon, letting her drink some of the water, and I dip my sleeve in, trying to wipe away the worst of the blood. I touch my head, my hair damp and sticky but it seems to have stopped.
Makoto settles in my lap. “Try to rest,” I tell her.
The man next to us sits up. “If she’s upset, I have some manju. It’s a bit squished but it’s still tasty.”
He turns around and I wonder what kind of madness has befallen the world tonight as his face comes into view.
“Souji?”
The woman looks at me funny. I’ve gotten that before. “I heard you talking about Fujita Goro. I knew him too, but it’s been a long time since I saw him.”
I unwrap the manju. It’s so good. “Come on, it’s alright.” I pinch off a bit for myself. “See, good!” I never saw many children when I was with Shishio but since I’ve started going around Japan I’ve become very fond of them. They don’t think it’s strange that I wander around and will talk to me more than adults.
She calls me Souji and I laugh, shaking my head. “Close, but my name is -Soujirou-. Seta Soujirou.” Although I should be careful with this name, I always land in trouble when I use it. She looks almost stunned but I get that reaction from older people sometimes when they call me Souji.
Seta Soujirou… I know the name but I’m struck by how much he looks like Souji. But younger than he would have been, even with his youthful face.
He holds out the packet, shaking it slightly, as if she’s a skittish bird. “It’s alright, go ahead.” She nods, taking a piece and nibbling on it, carefully. “Thank you,” she says in a quiet voice, and curls back up against me.
I had heard all of the commotion before and I thought that would mean the station would be empty and I could escape without bothering anyone. It was so weird, really, ending up here but in my wandering it happened more often than not. I didn’t hear the name, I just saw a tall man come and go, barking orders. I knew he seemed familiar!
“Is there trouble?” I look over at the woman… Yagi-san, she said her name was, and smile.
The smile… that’s simply uncanny.
“Fujita-san is…” I look down at Makoto, “someone came for us tonight, he got there before they made off with Makoto. But I think there’s still danger, so we’re here, to wait on him.” I can talk about it calmly, beaking it down to its simplest elements.
“Makoto,” I repeat, “that’s a good name,” I would pat the little girl on the head but her eyes are heavy, like she’s about to go to sleep. How horrible to have that happen…
I think of another child, who had the worst happened to him. I wasn’t that much older than her, was I?
I look down at the girl, her hair is as black as a raven’s, not like Yagi-san’s. I wonder… and something tells me that she is.
Yagi-san’s eyes look sad and worried, and something deep within me hates that. Who does it remind me of? Yumi-san? My mother? I stand up. “Then I’ll go help. I’m tired of sitting in here anyway.” The food’s been good here but I need to get north before winter.
Help? I look at him, surprised. I’m sure he could, and something in his eyes seems sincere. Eyes that are innocent yet not. Eyes that are a lot like another that I once knew, but his face has shadows that Souji’s never had. “You would?” I ask.
“I’ve been traveling a long time and I’ve seen a lot, Yagi-san. I don’t think I’m going to be like that other guy,” he smiles, and again I shiver at the resemblance, I had heard but to see it in front of me… He continues, “I thought that there were only two paths, but there’s a lot more, the more I wander the more I find. I won’t be like the -other- one, either, though.”
He looks back over at me as he puts on a blue coat which is as travel-worn as the rest of him, and sees Makoto, sleeping with her head on my lap. “That’s a great place to rest,” he grins and I only blink at him, wondering what provoked -that- comment.
I think about the things I overheard earlier, and what the man just said. Trouble at the train station? Hmm. I think I saw one of those earlier. The desk clerk is watching me, his mouth open, and staring at Yagi-san. “You let a criminal escape!”
“Don’t bother Yagi-san, I did it on my own.” I smile at him. Really, these places are just too easy to get out of. My eyes land on the weapon rack by the door. Most of it was taken earlier but there’s a wakazashi that will -do-. I’ve not used a sword in a long time but there are things that I’ll never forget.
Running out of the precinct, I go to see what is going on.
(Soujirou exits)