This is my attempt to write a drabble series of my favourite pairing in RK.
…..
Tonight he was out again, carrying out the assassin. She caught the sight of the black envelope under his sleeve when he practiced his swordsmanship in the courtyard. No matter how hard he tried to hide the fact from her, she could always tell when he would be out. It was obvious to her. She would notice the subtle change in his grim expression and the tensed muscles whenever he received a black envelope.
Heaven Justice - that was what the Ishin Shishi called his work.
She thought she disliked the Bakufu but now she knew she hated the Ishin Shishi more. They were all hypocrites. They did whatever they wanted all in the name of justice.
For countless times, she overheard the Choshu Ishin Shishi discussed and campaigned over the equality for the four classes.
"The three hundred reign of the Tokugawa will soon be over. The curtain raises on a new age. The age when the oppressed cry themselves to sleep is over. The age of equality for the four classes has come."
Somehow, she knew all those pretty words about equality of the four classes were just one big lie. There would never be equality in the world. Life is unfair. In the end, the Choshu, Tosa and Satsuma clan were only vying for power and dominance. Those who disagreed with them were destroyed, even if they had to distort the truth to do it.
Despicable men.
Katsura Kogoro came to talk to her earlier that night.
Have you heard of mad justice?
Hitokiri Battousai was the key to the revolution.
With this, we can create a new world, a new era.
After Katsura left, Tomoe wrote in her diary before retiring to bed. However, no matter how hard she tried to sleep, she could not. She glanced at the window still, empty. He was not back yet. Her eyes hardened as she remembered the reason he was out that night. Katsura Kogoro was the man who wrote the black letters. Katsura was the one who caused Kiyosato Akira's death, indirectly. She should seek revenge from the leader too, this Katsura Kogoro. Hitokiri Battousai was merely a puppet of the Ishin Shishi. He was merely doing his job. Her heart wavered. He was just a child. He was just a tool. So was she…a tool. Well, a tool did not need to think.
Knowing more about the people that I kill would disrupt my concentration. I do what I do to create a better world. That's all I need to know.
What did he want to build? A utopia? His intentions were noble but…what about the rest. The Tosa, Satsuma and Choshu clan. No, she could not agree with him.
Murder is wrong.
Yet how different was she from the people who were fighting this war?
She dreamt of peace too. She dreamt of a world where people live harmoniously, having equal rights. She dreamt of a world where women have the power to make choices. She dreamt a world where her father would not need to obey everything the Bakufu ordered. She dreamt a world where people could live without anger, hatred, misery and fear. Yes, she dreamt before.
Yet, they were merely dreams. Dreams never to be fulfilled.
Her heart was dark and her soul was tainted. She never thought things would turn out this way. She was prepared to dutifully commit herself in plotting the death of the Hitokiri Battousai. She had found his weakness.
Yet, what was she waiting for?