CHAPTER SEVEN

Scapegoat

In all honesty, Aika was starting to regret the day wherein she decided to step foot on that ship.

Also, she was wondering if she was born deprived of luck, considering that no matter how cautious she was, she always gets into trouble.

Such as now.

"Not this again. Okay fine, I agreed to push through with this plan... but clearly I cannot see what is supposed to be entertaining or adventurous in this current situation." Aika mentally reprimanded herself, while giving a scowl on the black-haired police officer who seemed to be smoking on his nth stick.

It was honestly a wonder that he hadn't had Lung Cancer yet.

"Now, Miss. If only you'd be so nice to answer a few fucking questions, we'll let you go." He irritatingly said, glaring at her.

All Hijikata wanted to do now was to leave the damn brat and go on to recording his beloved 5PM soap opera drama.

He also was very much not pleased to know that Okita was not available at the moment to help him with the interrogation, as for some unknown reason, he was currently missing.

So much for the sadist's potential in coughing up information from his captives, he grimly thought.

Aika rolled her eyes at the man's statement; she was clearly not doing a great job in being an "innocent little girl who suddenly was seen gravely wounded in front of the Shinsengumi headquarters".

Not that the fake blood she decided to put on was of any help.

In fact, it made her seem all the more suspicious.

But then again, the Kihetai didn't need to know about that little blunder.

"It's not might fault that I don't want to be injured by them, most especially him" she thought once again.

Him.

Ah, the pain.

It was actually days since they have last spoken to each other, their conversation ending with an awkward and painful silence that made Aika resort to walking out instead.

And to make sure to never cross paths with the Admiral instead.

"Brat. Answer me or I will make you commit seppuku."

"What the fuck is seppuka? Or no wait, seppuchi? Zucchi?" Aika asked, in a bored tone. Clearly, she wasn't having any fun.

Hijikata scowled and stood up, kicking the chair in the process. He honestly wanted to whack her head then and there, but there was something about this girl that made him think that she was not normal.

Especially when she seemed to be carrying a black umbrella with her.

In his honest opinion, umbrellas meant trouble.

Take the vermillion-haired China girl for example.

"Yamazaki! Come here!" He shouted. The said anpan boy immediately went in.

"Y-yes, Vice-Chief?"

"Lock up the damn brat. She won't spill today; I hate to admit it but we might need Sougo's sadistic skills for this one." He irritably said.

Aika, on the other hand, merely smiled smugly at him, contented that his current facial expression resembled him to Grumpy of one of Snow White's Seven Dwarves.

'Hmph. It's about time, and I'm feeling darn bored too.' she thought, as she let herself be dragged away to wherever this 'prison' was.

"Danchou? Do you really think that this is a good idea?"

"Hm~?" Kamui hummed as he finally put his attention towards his Vice-Captain, after absentmindedly playing with his braid.

It was so not like him to do random things like that.

But then again, he did.

"I don't wanna be a party pooper, but isn't the events that are happening are too sketchy? The Kihetai wants to separate from us once we return to earth for a little private plan of theirs, targeting the Shinsengumi first. Isn't that seemingly out of line with their original plan?"

"What do you mean, Abuto?"

Abuto mentally banged himself on the wall as he tried to patiently explain himself.

"Aren't we supposed to gather strong allies as much as we can now, not to diddle daddle on Earth? The original plan was, in order for things to go smoothly as planned, we were to recruit those ninjas from Iga, as well as other neighboring Amantos that would be deemed worthy to join in the fight. What I don't understand now is how come one measly brat gets to be included on whim in the Kihetai, not especially when we are supposed to be busy looking for people instead."

Kamui momentarily gazed out the window of his cabin; the sea seemed so calm right now that it honestly looked very disturbing.

"It's none of our business, Abuto. That brat coincidentally came to this ship, and I was merely amused by her for a brief period of time. I couldn't care less what happens to her now, especially when she's the mate of that Takasugi. She's weak, she gave in to her desires."

To think I actually thought she was stronger than my weakling of a sister, I guess I was wrong, he thought.

Abuto prayed every ounce of restraint he had within himself just so that he wouldn't roll his eyes at his Captain in response.

But in all honesty, Abuto could see that the Kihetai were clearly up to no good at the moment.

And all he wanted right now was to preserve the Yato clansmen, since they were at a risk to being extinct in a few decades' time, if several of them keep on dying. Boring children were out of the question, since both male and female alike were so engrossed in getting stronger, not settling down.

He initially planned to subtly request for his Captain to stop whatever plan the Kihetai was making, including Aika- it was clear as a day that Takasugi planned to have her as a scapegoat, not to be his girlfriend for life.

Takasugi and women?

Nope, never happening.

Abuto didn't know whether his Captain was merely too dense and uncaring to give a damn, or that maybe, just maybe...

...his thick-headed foster son actually had a plan in mind.

It wouldn't hurt to hope, right?

"Shinsuke-sama... are you really sure with this plan?"

Takasugi merely smirked as he leaned on the wall.

"Most definitely, yes. Only a naïve brat would be so dumb to even join on whim. As cautious as she may be, as trusting she may be, but she'll never learn to live one her own if she does not know who to trust fully. She knew that somehow, I might bare my fangs at her, by which I have. But she still did not do anything about it, choosing to trust me over her own fellowmen."

Not that Kamui was more trusting than him though, he mentally snickered.

The rest of the Kihetai members were saddened at the fate that was about to befall Aika. They honestly enjoyed her presence, even though they have interacted for only a brief amount of time.

But then again, Takasugi was their leader- all decisions made were to be mandated by him, and him alone.

But still... they did not seem to like this leeway plan one bit.

The original plan was not to make Aika as bait, but to merely hand her over to the Shinsengumi, literally, as the one responsible for the murders around Edo lately, that she was the estranged 'shinigami' who kept on murdering criminals and Joui patriots during who survived from the Joui war.

To make matters worse, she seemed very much capable of doing so, despite having an umbrella as a weapon.

She was a Yato for freak's face, everything was possible.

Takasugi already had all of this planned perfectly in his mind; in order for them to speed up with the process of destroying Edo, they would need to pull some strings here and there.

And a seemingly political war deemed as an appropriate prologue to their murderous symphony.

Sadly, Aika was the one who had to take the blame of it all.

All because she decided to trust the beast, instead of a fellow monster like her.

Sougo strode towards the prison cells as he checked up on the girl.

In all honesty, he wouldn't like to believe that she was the cause of the deaths that have been occurring around Edo lately. She was also supposed to be released briefly within the day after the said interrogation.

But then strangely enough, a letter soon arrived containing details regarding the 'shinigami' murders, by which all information and details perfectly described her.

None of the Shinsengumi batted an eyelash at the news they received- for all they know, it would simply be a scam or whatnot.

However, they were at wits' end to solving the mystery, since they themselves were swordmen too... and it was gradually gaining the attention of other civilians that perhaps, maybe, the murders may be connected to them after all.

He wanted to pester the girl, but she seemed so weak and fatigued now. As sadistic as he was, he could not help but feel that somehow, there was something within her that screamed, 'it's not me'.

He shrugged off the feeling and decided to go upstairs and pester China instead; apparently, Aika seemed to be a bore to piss off at the moment.

As soon as the footsteps of the sandy-haired officer ceased to be heard, Aika immediately opened up her eyes and stretched.

Man, that was very hard to do. I hate it when I have to pretend to be asleep, she sighed.

To be honest, it was very easy for her to break away from the measly prison cell; she wasn't a Yato for nothing.

However, Takasugi's precise instructions were for her to not "make a mess of things and ruin the plan".

Oh, dear Aika... if only you knew.

"Bah, it's getting late and boring. I wonder when are they going to come." She rolled her eyes. Her stomach started to growl in protest as well, considering that she has not eaten enough for the day.

She was starving and tired.

Ah, she thought, she might as well die during the mission.

But then again, that would be very pathetic. And a very particular someone would end up mocking her all over again.

Aika frowned at the memories; she still wasn't on good terms with the idiotic Admiral- as she'd like to call it, and she was honestly thinking that the damned brat didn't give a fuck about her anymore, leaving her to rot with the Kihetai for all he cared.

She felt as if she became mere trash that is to be discarded away.

She loved the Kihetai, yes. Well, not all of them... but they seemed to help her self-esteem in a way, and seem to support her, especially Matako.

Kamui, on the other hand, decided to be the ultimate antagonist of her adventure.

"Tch. It's his fault all of this had happened. If only he didn't decide to kidnap me, I probably would have ended up in good hands."

Or if only I had met Gin-chan and the others first.

The Yorozuya.

Ah, how better it would have been if only she had crossed paths with them first; their gang seemed to be very lively and full of surprises and adventures.

Aika decided to lay down on the cold floor, propping her arms over her head as a cushion. It didn't help that she didn't have her umbrella with her; it was confiscated once again by another.

Sometimes, she honestly thought if her umbrella was meant to be confiscated at all times since the day she laid her eyes on it.

She shrugged and lulled herself to sleep, gradually succumbing into slumber.

Unknowingly to her, there was another figure who successfully was able to infiltrate the prison cells, and was standing in front of her, separated by bars.

A/N:

Ah, it's honestly been a while since I have updated this fic. In all honesty, I was contemplating whether to drop it or continue on... since I have had new ideas for another Kamui fan fic, that would most likely deviate from the original plot this fic was supposed to have; also because I felt that Kamui is being a bit OOC here, considering that I have now gotten to learn more about him, and understand his personality.

But then again, as soon as I re-read the story... somehow, I couldn't bear to part with it. Some characters may have been OOC, yes, but I thought that it would not hurt to try to fix it. Hence, this chapter has been made. If possible, and if I could, I'll try to navigate this path plot towards the manga, to make it more realistic, and with direction. TwT

Thank you for reading, and suggestions would be highly appreciated, since it's been years since I last updated this fic. XD

~ Juuno