Disclaimer: All the Detective School Q, Rurouni Kenshin and Peacemaker Kurogane characters belong to their respective creators. Slight OOC-ness expected. AU.

Chapter 10

Sake Shack. Late night

"Sano, you say what?" Nagakura Shinpachi almost fell flat on his face at his friend's revelation. "Man, this doesn't look good for you, pal. Seppuku alone wouldn't cut it." He poured out a cup of cheap sake.

"I know," Harada sorrowfully downed his sake. "I can't tell Kondo-san that Toudou and I ran up a huge bill at Itou's gambling den. So I decided to try Ryouma's. You do know he has a money-lending sideline. Toudou decided to try his family for the cash. Or maybe Itou gave him a job offer… Anyhow, I found them all dead when I got there," he whispered. "Someone got to them…"

"Sano, you dolt. Sakamoto doesn't lend money. He buys information, or at least his secretary does on his behalf. Everyone knows that. Were you planning to sell something on the Ichimuras? Everyone knows Sakamoto has a personal interest in those two, sons of a close friend or something. Hell, could you imagine Puppy-boy Testu-kun running about with that bunch? And you lost your slippers there?" Apart from sumo wrestlers, there were few men with Sano's foot size in Kyoto.

"Think they suspect? Saitou-san said I should be more careful about my footwear and dice. He's psycho! He freaking knows such things!" Harada rubbed the scar on his belly with a shudder. Seppuku would really hurt.

"I believe the correct word is psychic," a calm voice cut in.

"Aaargh! W-what are you doing here?" Both Nagakura and Harada leapt in shock. Saitou was not alone. With him were Hijikata and a group of uniform-wearing Shinsengumi members. "We were about to invite you two to Heisuke's funeral after getting his corpse from the morgue. Care to explain what your footwear was doing at the scene of a murder, Sano?" Hijikata's voice was pure ice.

At Saitou's insistence, he had made a trip to the local morgue with a few of the Eighth Patrol men to identify the rotting remains of a former captain Toudou Heisuke. "He is sorry for the mess he landed both Harada and himself in and he would like someone to see to his last rites…"

Pah! The ahou can consider himself lucky if they let Saitou handle the prayers and toss him back into the river. Hijikata growled. The morgue-keeper's sarcastic barbs never failed to put him in a bad mood. Then they thought it would be proper to inform his best buddies who happen to be knocking back a few drinks at the Sake Shack. Instead they find Harada admitting to being at the crime scene within earshot of half the town's adult male population.

Hijikata cast a wary eye about the crowd, most of which have passed into drunken oblivion. A large man appeared fairly sober as he sipped sake from his jar. A large sword was at his belt. The customer bid the sleepy-eyed shack owner goodnight and tossed on his white cape. "Good night, Hiko-sama," the owner replied as the customer stepped out the door without a backward glance. Hijikata was secretly relieved. The customer was a known hermit and potter. Town happenings did not interest a man of that type. The shack owner, Nagi, was half-deaf to start with. The other more sober drinkers appeared to be off-duty Miburou for the most part.

"Hougou Tatsumi," Hijikata recognized the man lying at the table next to them. Hougou was known for his ties to the Dan household, on top of his honesty. With him was a younger man, more a teen. Both appeared to be drunk. Sake from an overturned sake jar soaked the fronts of their clothes and dripped onto the earthen floor. Hougou's head was pillowed on an arm as he snored. The younger man fidgeted in a drunken sleep.

Once the Miburou left, Hougou nudged Kinta, who got up from his mock stupor. "My wife's gonna kill me…" Hougou muttered as he studied his sake-soaked garments. What had started as a little off-duty chat had taken a serious turn. They must inform Nanami or Dan-sensei immediately on this development.

Dan residence

"Ryu? You awake?" Kyu rolled over and found the futon next to him empty. Maybe he had gone out to the privy. Kyu rubbed his eyes and crawled over to the door, carefully avoiding the sprawled limbs of a snoring Nanami. Narusawa Kazuma, who was their guest for the night, fidgeted restlessly. Their other guest was with Yukihira and Katagiri. Aunt Umeko insisted that Megumi and Kazuma stay away from Umeya for a while.

Ryu was standing under the cherry tree, talking to a black-clad figure that was definitely female. "You are asking me for information, Ryu?" Risa laughed. "No, I am not," Ryu gritted his teeth, flustered. His grandfather was displeased with his lack of reports, enough to send Risa instead of Kerberos to warn him. Risa was a professional, both as a geisha and spy.

"Of course, this house will be finished once Nanami bungles the case… Maybe you could consider an assignment in the gay pleasure houses?" Risa teased. "How disappointing that Dan is on his deathbed…"

"He is not on his deathbed!" Kyu blurted out loud. A shocked Ryu turned around to face him. Risa nonchalantly leapt over the wall and into the night. "Ryu? What was that about?" Nanami was also awake now. Before Ryu could reply, there was a knocking on the gate.

"There are too many clues that lead nowhere," Nanami murmured as he scratched letters in the sand of the yard. Hougou's findings at the Sake Shack only complicated matters. The Miburou would be guarded. "Nanami-san, could we help?" Kyu's voice cut in on his thoughts. The young people were busy helping Katagiri-san with the chores. Kyu and Ryu were drawing water from the well and Megumi was preparing to wash the clothes. Kazuma and Kinta were in the study, going through some documents that Kenshin had brought over for comparison.

Nanami smiled. Kyu was ever the optimist. Ryu had been sullen since last night. "If we don't do something to solve the murders… Dan-sensei will be disgraced and Ryu will have to go work in the gay pleasure districts… OW!" Kyu never saw that bucket coming. He stumbled, face landing smack in the middle of Megumi's chest. SLAP!

"I told you already, that is a replica of Katsura's seal. A very well-made one, except for this…" Kazuma pointed at a document. "The original one has a hairline crack through it that shows … The one on the forgery does not have it. According to my colleague here, Katsura-sama preferred hardwood for his seals instead of stone. If you notice the grain shows…" Resting by the door, Kenshin gave a nod.

"All I see are squiggles and blots," Kinta squinted.

"Illiterate…" Kazuma snorted and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Pah, who needs to read and write? What matters is how well you fight, right, Ken?" Kinta nudged Kenshin.

"Er, actually, my shishou taught me to read and write along with sword skills…" Kenshin corrected. "Almost all samurai are literate…"

"I bet the Miburou aren't…"

"Hijikata is a poet. Writes haiku, so I heard from a reliable source," Kenshin grinned at the memory of one Okita Souji sharing poetry with him in a small eatery before all hell broke loose upon both learning the other's real identity. "That's what separates scholars and samurai from bumpkins like you," Kazuma jibed. "You little…" Kinta caught the younger boy in an arm-lock.

"Talking of those wolves, I wonder what they will do to Harada," Kenshin mused. "Hijikata's page was seen running about getting things for a funeral."

"What do you intend to do with your little forger?" Kazuma asked. It has been ascertained that Kitamura Suzu had been using a Choushu leader's seal to carry out fraud and forgery, possibly under the direction of Itou. Kenshin shrugged. He had not been able to locate Kitamura yet and the girls at Umeya have volunteered to inform him once they have located his hiding place.

"He was a fairly adept swordsman. His master was a good swordsman, if you discount the fact that he is an overall jerk…" Kazuma had wriggled his way free of Kinta's arm. "Hard to imagine how he went so wrong…"

"You were in Nagasaki during the Ikeda-ya incident. Things happen," Kenshin said sombrely. He picked up his sword. "I need to speak with someone, to find out the situation in the Shinsengumi."

"Count me in," Kinta volunteered.

Author's Notes:

Seppuku – ritual suicide that involves slicing open one's belly, practised by disgraced samurai in a last ditch attempt to save their honour.

Okita Souji (PMK) and Kenshin (RK) sharing poetry? You may want to read my Green Tea and Haiku fic if you like the notion of friendship fluffiness between these two.