Disclaimer: I forgot this on the last chapter so I guess that I'll make up for it now. I do not own anything to do with these characters, and I do not profit from writing this! Other than in reviews. I get paid in reviews, so please review lots!
A.N. : Once again I'm at work. Do I see a pattern building? Oh well. Here is the next installment of Orphan City. How sad is it when your husband tells you to hurry up and finish this story so you can write another story, 'cause he thinks that hes gonna like IT more than this one... though he did say its just because he prefers the other story style, but still... Oh well, this story doesn't have much time let in it anyway. One or two chapters after this, that's all. Hope you enjoy. -Kasi.
Orphan City.
By: SilverInches
I didn't get more than ten steps down the slope when Saitou's back stiffened, and he broke out of his leisurely pace into a dead run. It took me no more than a moment to see what had caused him to speed up. The farmers in the fields were scattering in every direction, as out of the city itself came a flood of riders. There were hundreds of them, raiders. My stomach tied itself back into the knot it was used to being in. That brief moment when I had actually thought that we were home-free was shattered.
I flung myself down the slope as fast as I could, searching for Sano who I was sure had my little girls with him. Then Kamatari was beside me yelling something desperately, though I couldn't hear what he was saying. Those that had seen the riders were screaming in fear or anger, and those that hadn't were still cheering. The sword brat wasn't interested in not being heard, he grabbed me by the shoulders and hauled me against his side to be tucked neatly under his arm, as he somehow managed to keep up with my desperate run.
"We can't fight them all. We have to surrender and bide our time!" He finally managed to forced his voice to produce the words loud enough.
I put my mouth almost at his ear and yelled with all my might, "There won't be a second chance. If we give in now, we'll never get free."
Kamatari didn't argue with me, he just looked sadly at me for a long second, and I realized that he knew as well as I did that we would never get a second chance to escape, he was just hoping to minimize the number of children that would die. Then the moment was passed and Kamatari was racing off on a tangent to me, and I plunged into the pandemonium of the valley.
Little ones screamed, cried and dropped to the ground in huddled groups. This herd mentality helped me little bit, as I was able to get around them faster, and find kids that were armed to tell them to spread the word of our newest 'plan'. I felt terrible not telling them the whole truth, that this could very well be the end of the line. Well, I guess I was still in a bit of denial myself, since I knew very well we were done. All the traveling, all the victories and squabbles had been for nothing, since it had all been a lie, there was no Orphan City. Maybe there had been when Aoshi was here last, but obviously something drastic had changed.
Kamatari must have gotten to Saitou about this 'plan' because when the riders had swept around us, trapping us in a ring of horses, he stepped forward slowly and surrendered his sword to their leader. I was close enough to hear them ask if he was the leader, and I knew he would say yes and take all the blame on himself, so before I really thought it out, I scrambled forward to stand beside him.
"Who is this?" I might have been a bug that suddenly crawled out from under a rock considering his tone of voice, but I stared up at the tall almost-adult by my side stubbornly, letting him know that he would not be allowed to do this alone.
A wry smile touched the corner of his lips, "One of my fellow leaders." He stated clearly. Asohi slid out of the crowd suddenly and stood beside us as well, I was startled to see that he looked rather green in the face. Then it hit me like a load of bricks, he thought this was all his fault. He had mentioned the City in the first place, he had convinced me to join, and I had come up with the Better Plan. He had lead us here, and right back into slavery.
"Three of you?" the rider's eyes swept the crowd as if searching for more, but the others must have been too far away to get to the front and stand up with us. "Very well then. Bring them." I craned my head around desperately, trying to catch a glimpse of Sano or the little girls or Kaoru, but being as short as I am was a disadvantage in that situation. It only took a moment for our hands to be bound and I was picked up and tossed belly down over the pommel of a one of the rider's saddles. Due to my face being buried in a horse's shoulder I couldn't see what was happening to anyone else, but I assumed that my fellow leaders were getting similar treatment to my own and that the children were being herded together to be taken to work camps.
The following ride was brutal. I lost what little food I had in my stomach early in the trip, much to my captor's disgust and spent the rest of the time trying every trick I knew to cushion my middle from the repeated blows of the pommel, the hand on my back holding me down didn't help in the least and I was hardly able to draw breath.
When I was finally thrown off the horse, all I could do was lie dizzily on the ground, black spots filling my vision, gasping to get my wind back. Above me I could hear the grumblings of my rider as he tried to wipe my vomit off of his armor, and I wished vindictively that it would stain.
I was just starting to take in my surroundings when, with Saitou and Aoshi in front of me, we were marched quickly up a ramp leading into a large fortress. As far as I could tell it seemed to be at the center of the city, and I was amazed that I hadn't noticed passing through so many people, never mind what kind of discomfort I was in at the time. Unless, another thought entered my mind, this whole city lived in terror of the riders and the people had all run inside to hide when their oppressors were known to be passing by. That would explain why I hadn't heard them.
The fortress was a maze of corridors, doorways and stairs, if I hadn't been trained as an assassin I would have been lost in moments, as it was I was losing confidence in my memory of the way we had come when I realized that they had likely been leading us through a circuitous route to cause confusion. These men were taking no chances with us.
Finally, after walking for almost as long as we had ridden horses, our little entourage exited into a huge room. I suppose it would be called a throne room, as one end of it was almost entirely taken up by a dais, and the dais sported a massive chair. Said chair was occupied by one of the most dangerous men I had ever encountered. I could feel his fighting energy from where I stood, the entire room and over two score of people between us. My stomach lurched, there would be no sneaking out behind this one's back. Not a chance. I could tell by the knotting in Saitou's back muscles that he realized the same thing.
It was impossible to tell the age of this Lord, because he had bandages covering every inch of his body. Sitting by his knee was a beautiful woman with rich clothes and black hair, but even her beauty became unimportant when you saw his eyes. They were a piercing red, that seemed to burn with a malevolent fire deep within, causing shivers to run up and down my spine. I refused to acknowledge the tremors, forcing myself to focus all my energy into holding his eyes when they swept over me. I would not be cowed! The bandages on his brow rose in surprise at my spirit, and a smile tinged with something like recognition touched the corners of his mouth, but somehow this smile made Saitou's wolfishness look like a puppy by comparison.
"These are the ones that led the army here?"
I started, if they treated our coming like an invasion they could legally kill everyone of us, to the last child, right away. Not waiting until the two weeks had passed to take possession of us. Though considering this man seemed to hold even the adults here in thrall, I didn't really think that it would matter what the law said. I guess we had passed beyond any sort of law when we conquered the ships months ago.
"Yes, m'lord." One of the riders piped up.
"What is your purpose here?" The man ignored the previous speaker in favor of burning holes in us with his eyes.
Saitou and Aoshi where still in front of me, and I saw them exchange a quick glance, then Aoshi stepped forward slightly, "I brought them. This was the Orphan City." I sighed internally. Only we would think it smart to let the most taciturn of all people be our spokesman.
As I expected the entire hall was soon filled with wild laugher. The man on the throne flicked his fingers and the noise stopped.
"Sadly," He almost purred into the new stillness. "The City of which you speak fell prey to a mightier force. It no longer follows the policies that made it so weak." I saw Aoshi's hands twist furiously against the ropes that bound his hands behind his back, but they held strong.
"I do not care what age you are." The bandaged one continued, "Only fi you have strength and wit. All of you clearly possess this, if you managed to drag a bunch of babies here all the way from... where was it again?" We remained silent.
The man nodded his head slightly, as if deciding something. "Leave me." The guards grabbed us to haul us out of the room when the Lord said, "No, leave them." Soon we were standing the massive room by ourselves, facing the man, the woman by his knee, and a boy who stood near a side door on the dais with a pleasant smile on his lips.
"Come forward. Now we can talk. No one will hear."
Seeing the other two were too busy trying to find a way to use this new turn of events for our advantage, I moved past them, and walked steadily towards the throne. It wasn't very long before I heard the other two following cautiously. I wasn't very fond of this new position I was in, this Lord in front of me with his burning eyes, and Saitou with his cold mistrust of me behind, but if I could take most of the attention off of them, then maybe they would be able to think of a way to get out of here.
"Where did you come from?" He asked again.
"Depreth, beyond the Mine Cities." My voice was docile, but my eyes never left his. Another reason I had moved to the front was so that Aoshi would not see my eyes change color with the rising of my spirit, as my soul fought to keep from being dominated.
"And who owned you?" He was amused by my struggling against him, but I hoped I was strong enough to gain equal standing with him, possibly even beat him in a battle of wills then we might have a good chance of surviving this mess.
"The Mining companies." I responded.
He frowned. "Do not make me repeat myself."
"Lord Ito of Shinsen." Saitou's voice cut in coldly from behind me, maybe he realized I was trying to fight the man and was lending me some help. Then again, maybe he knew I wasn't going to spout off my former master's name.
"All three of you?"
"Lord Kashiwazaki of Aioya." I blinked in surprise. I hadn't realized that Aoshi had belonged to one of the few men that agreed and worked with my former master, though privately.
"Powerful men indeed. You will be worth my while to keep. I will provide you good positions in my army, you could not ask for better."
"I will die first." Saitou ground out between clenched teeth. Aoshi grunted in agreement. The baleful eyes had not left mine and I nearly collapsed under the weight of his fury at being turned down, but somehow a stray thought of Kaoru hugging me the morning we realized we were free sprang into my mind and my trembling ceased. I bore the man's power with renewed ease.
Eyes suddenly narrowing at mine, he snarled, "And you? Who was able to keep possession you?" I guess I had impressed him with the strength of my will, but I held my tongue. "I wanted to hear you say it, but I don't need you to." His tone had almost become conversational, "I know who molded you to become what you are. The same one who shaped me, and then ordered me killed one week before my twenty fifth birthday." I shuddered, it was every child's fear, to almost survive until adulthood only to been destroyed within touching distance of freedom.
"I'll make you a deal." The bandaged one continued, "I'll allow all of your little friends to live, and work as they did before you ran away, in exchange you answer to me, and only me. Just like Sou over there." I didn't dare break eye contact, but I knew he was talking about the smiling boy.
"Yes." I almost choked on the word, but managed to push it passed my gag reflex.
"You'll answer to me, just as you did him?" The burning eyes were laughing at me now, but I couldn't let all those kids be slaughtered.
"Yes."
The eyes finally left mine and looked at the other two. "I will give you time to change your minds. I will not waste such valuable resources."
The guards were called back in, and as my hands were untied, and the other two were dragged away I saw clearly in Saitou's eyes the wish that he had killed me the moment he recognized me back on the edge of the sea. After all, the Shinsengumi's are trained to one rule, 'kill evil instantly'.
My stomach was heaving with the thought that I had just bound myself to a man twice as harsh as my master had been.
Tbc.
A.N.: Almost there. :) Please review, and let me know what you think. Story, writing style, whatever.
Kasi.