Chapter 13

With the ruling on Toru's punishment from the magistrates imminent, Ukyo found himself spending a great deal of time at the jail in order to ensure there were no escape or breakout attempts. It was stifling, both in overall temperature and atmosphere. He couldn't imagine being caged up like that for any length of time. The very idea practically gave him hives.

One thing that always soothed his mind, though, was spending time with Kitsune. Now that she was on the mend, he knew it wouldn't be long before he and Ed packed her off for her return to Edo. A part of him refused to acknowledge that reality, and preferred to believe that she would be with the two of them forever. Still, the older, wiser part of him knew that this may well be the last time they get to see each other for perhaps years, if ever. It was enough to hollow out his heart and leave a nagging ache in his chest.

His thoughts led his feet and when he came back from his ruminations, he found himself in front of the Meiko Salon. Seeing her face, her sweet smile and wicked laugh, kissing her sassy mouth, it was all he needed in his life. Well, her and Ed, really. With the two of them, his life was practically perfect.

"Fancy meeting you here," a voice called out from behind him.

The commissioner turned to see his best friend strolling down the street, oblivious as always to the stares he drew as a tall, blond foreigner. "Hey buddy. What's going on? Did Makoto summon you?"

The translator smiled and shook his head. "Nope, just had some unexpected free time since the chairman is down sick and thought I'd drop in on Kitsune."

They entered the shop discussing their mutual plan and approached Saori who was busy dusting items and wiping down shelves.

"Hey cutie," Ed greeted her with a warm smile. "Busy as always I see."

She nodded and got to her feet, dusting off her knees and wiping her hands on her kimono. "Well, it keeps the Master happy and Kagura peaceful, so I do what I can. How can I help you two?"

Ukyo looked around the store for a moment, checking to see if there were any untoward ears nearby before leaning down to enquire, "Kitsune, have you seen her?"

"We wanted to surprise her by getting the afternoon off," Eduard continued.

The youngest vigilante grimaced and shrugged. "I definitely think you'll surprise her, especially considering she's not here."

Both men looked taken aback by this turn of events. "Do you know where she is?" Ukyo demanded after he thought about it for a moment. It wasn't like she had a large number of places she could be in the town, and was only recently released from her doctor's care, so she couldn't have wandered that far.

Saori shook her head and picked up a glass cup from the shelf, wiping it with a rag. "I don't know. She's been gone for a bit since I went to see if she wanted to have lunch with me and she was gone, and her brother's waiting in in the back and has been here for about an hour, so…"

"Natsume's here?" Ed's question was one of concern and suspicion. So far, she and her older brother hadn't really spoken since she'd been injured, and were observing some kind of peace treaty that required both of them to be silent and separated. Given how they used to fight as kids, that was probably for the best.

Saori rolled a shoulder and reached for another glass after putting back the first. "He said he'd wait in the Dragonfly room for her, and I told him I'd let him know when she arrived. Was that bad?"

Ukyo shook his head, his mind going in all directions as he considered the situation. "No, you're good, kid. Thanks." He ruffled her hair and snickered at her scowl. "Is it okay if we head back there to wait with him?"

"Suit yourself." She went back to cleaning and the men headed back into the back of the salon to the warren of hallways and rooms that housed Makoto and his studio as well as the residences of at least three of the vigilantes.

"Do you know why Natsume wants to see Kitsune?" The blond man next to him asked softly out of the side of his mouth as they wound their way deeper into the building. In addition to the store up front and the residences, the Salon also held numerous meeting rooms that provided private spaces to conduct business and other things. The further back they went, the quieter the ambient noise dropped.

Ukyo shook his head. "No idea. When she said they hadn't spoken, she didn't say why and we didn't ask. Maybe that's on us."

Ed nodded. "Maybe."

They finally arrived at the Dragonfly room, an elegantly appointed meeting room with Western-style furniture including a dark wood table and matching chairs. At the head was Natsume, in his usual finery, hunched over a book, scribbling away furiously.

"How do, Natsu?" Ukyo cheerfully approached the man as Ed slid the door closed behind them.

When the younger man looked up, his deep blue eyes were cloudy with thought, like he normally looked when he was in the middle of a novel. His writings were becoming quite popular, and from what the other vigilante said, he had acquired quite the following back in Edo. It was a moment before he returned to reality and realized he wasn't alone anymore.

"'Kyo, Ed, good to see you," he observed as his cheeks flushed slightly. Even after all these years, he still blushed like a kid when he was caught working on his books.

Ed smiled broadly and took a seat next to him. "You, too, man! It's been a long time. How are you?"

The novelist put a cork back into his inkwell and lay his stylus down. "I'm alright. Be better if my damn sister would hurry up and get back from wherever she is."

The annoyance in the other man's voice was accompanied by a huff that was common when he spoke of his wild sibling. Kitsune was a year younger than them, but driven to work that much harder to be seen as ninja worthy of respect and admiration. As far as Natsume was concerned, she should have long ago abandoned her ambitions and given their parents grandchildren. In short, whatever she did as a ninja was never going to be good enough to please her brother, hence the longstanding deep-freeze in their relationship.

"Are you two speaking?"

Ukyo almost snorted at Ed's guileless question. Leave it to him to cut straight through the niceties and get to the heart of an issue in record time. "Ed." He shook his head as he chastised his friend who looked affronted.

His blond friend shrugged, his expression unchanging. "What? They weren't last we heard."

"Of course she'd gab about that. Such a gossip." Natsume rolled his eyes. "You know, none of this," he waved a dismissive hand around at their surroundings, "would have happened if she had just gone back home and gotten married like she was supposed to."

Ed's violet eyes snapped to Ukyo's at this new bit of info, and his jaw set like he was grinding his teeth against opening his mouth to speak. He figured the way to go was to play it off, because there was no way the other man could be serious. "Married? Kitsune? Have you met her?"

Natsume snorted and pursed his lips in disdain. "Yeah, I know she's got quite the mouth on her, and a husband would have to overlook that in addition to her poor housekeeping skills, but her place is not with the vigilante, and honestly, never should have been."

Now he was the one working hard to keep his words civil. "You think now is the time to bring that up to her?" She had just helped to thwart an uprising against the Shogunate, as far as her ninja credibility was concerned among both vigilante groups, she was made of gold and worthy of worship.

"When better? Wakasa isn't going to release her to fight for some time now, or never if I can convince him, so what's she going to do? Work at the magistrate's office until she dies? No," he shook his head, "she's better off finding a nice farmer to marry and start pumping out the kids." He stared out the window and sighed deeply. "I mean, really, what kind of woman gets shot?"

"One who was defending the life of her partner," Ed snarled, his voice dangerously low and clipped. Kitsune's brother, this man who was her blood and should have had her back, sounded personally affronted at the idea that she would get shot in service to the vigilante and her Shogun. It was unconscionable. "She saved Shintaro's life, more than once, and helped to end both a major smuggling ring and a plot to overthrow the Shogunate. You could show a little respect."

Natsume rolled his eyes again and waved away the words with a flick of the wrist. "All of that is incidental. If she hadn't been there, one of you would have been, and would have done the same thing. She was… adequate."

The way he emphasized the word made the commissioner's eye twitch. Even Toru, a prisoner of the Shogunate who was likely to be exiled to a deserted island, said she'd fought with honor and bravery.

"What happens if she doesn't want to leave the Vigilante?" There was no scenario Ukyo could imagine where she'd submit to this idea. Her going back to Edo was a separate thing entirely, but leaving her duties as a ninja and a vigilante? Only in death, and not a moment sooner, of that he was absolutely certain.

Natsume's fine brows drew down as he regarded his friend. "Why wouldn't she? She'd be a fool to go back to stalking the night as a ninja. She's clearly not built for the more… difficult parts of the occupation. It's not all seducing men for information and poisoning tea." He sighed and looked beyond them to the closed door. "Though I did hear it was those, ahem… skills that led to the vigilantes breaking up the smuggling operation. I had no idea she was so talented."

Ukyo's training as a commissioner and a ninja was the only thing that kept him from leaping to his feet and throttling the man in front of him. Eduard's normally placid expression had hardened into a facade of ice. If they didn't leave soon, one or both of them would be working to hide a corpse. Makoto preferred they keep their killing outside of the house if they could help it.

Saori slid the door open just then, giving them the opening they needed. "Hey guys," she looked around with a sunny smile, "can I get you anything while you wait?"

Ukyo smiled and rose. "Nah, I'm good, dear. Actually, Ed and I should probably go and let Natsume work." He looked to Ed who nodded once and unfolded his lanky frame from his chair. Turning to Natsume, he smiled. "We know you're a busy guy now. Enjoy your writing and we'll catch up here in a bit."

None the wiser, the novelist nodded and popped the cork on his inkwell. "Good to see you guys. And thank you, Miss Saori, I'd love some tea and maybe some of those lovely sweet bean dumplings from earlier?"

The smallest ninja nodded and moved to the side as Ukyo and Ed made their strategic exits. "Of course, right away." She bowed and followed her friends into the hallway. A little ways away from the room, she whispered, "What's going on, guys?"

Unsurprisingly, Eduard didn't speak, leaving Ukyo to mutter, "We're going to wait in Kitsune's room, alright? And please, come to us when she returns." He paused as they arrived at her door. "Before you talk to her brother, okay?"

Saori's whole face puckered as she regarded the two men. These were men she trusted with her life, and weren't exactly known for being so cagey with one another. "Did something happen?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Her voice drew the attention of everyone in the hallway. The loves of her life looked ready to chew glass. "'Kyo, Ed, is everything okay?"

Upon seeing her, they both broke into huge grins. Ed rushed to her side and wrapped her in a tight hug and buried his face in her neck.

Ukyo chuckled softly and strolled over to them, relieving her of her bag. "We're good. We wanted to surprise you by taking the afternoon off."

Ed lifted his head from her shoulder with a bright grin. "Surprise!"

Kitsune couldn't help but laugh. These two. "Color me surprised." She opened the door to her room and the men followed her in, hot on her heels, leaving Saori in the hallway.

The young woman looked… perplexed, shifting her weight and looking between the three of them before looking in the direction of the Dragonfly room. "Should I-?"

"We'll get it," 'Kyo interrupted smoothly. "Don't worry about us."

The young ninja shrugged and started off back towards the store. "Suit yourself."

Kitsune watched Saori as she disappeared back down the hall toward the store. When she turned around, she found the guys making themselves at home. "Am I missing something?"

"Something like what?" Ed asked as he took a seat on a cushion by her small table and began to pull out her cups for sake.

She watched them both suspiciously as she took a seat in between them. "I dunno, you're both just acting a little weird. Did something happen?"

Ukyo shook his head and handed her a glass. "Not at all, we just missed your face." He took the opportunity to steal a kiss as he poured out a hit for her.

"Uh huh." She sipped her drink and watched the eyeball conversation going on between her two lovers. Finally, she could no longer take it, and quickly tipped up her cup before slamming it down on the table upside down, drawing both men's startled eyes to her. "Really. What's going on? You're starting to worry me."

"Your brother is down the hall." Ed's voice was carefully neutral as he watched her face and sipped his drink.

Kitsune cocked her head to the side as she regarded her men. "And?" She wasn't worried about her pain-in-the-ass brother. He had his thoughts on how she lived her life and she had hers. They were never going to be close, and these days, barely approached something close to friendly. The best they could do was to stay away from each other and not speak. The rest of the Edo vigilantes-save the ever-optimistic Dr. Wakasa-knew this was not the hill to die on, and didn't press it. "What'd he want?"

Ukyo looked like he could have cheerfully strangled Eduard for his usual unvarnished bluntness as he placed both hands on the table and stretched his fingers out wide. "He said he wanted to speak to you." He couldn't even look at her as he spoke, focusing on the space between his fingertips.

"About?" Her soft voice and measured tone belied the anger she could feel begin to bubble beneath her skin. Whatever had transpired to make her men so uncomfortable even looking at her had to be bad, and if her brother was the source….

For a long time there was silence around the table while each man worked up the courage to face what they both knew would be a white-hot blast of rage. Finally, Ukyo bit the bullet since Ed was the one to broach the topic. "He wants you to quit the vigilante, stop being a ninja, go back to the village and get married." The words came out in a rush, a distasteful torrent he'd have rather forgotten, but the last one? The last one almost choked him, and the idea of her marrying someone else practically burned on his tongue.

"I see." Kitsune softly closed her eyes and took several deep, slow breaths before resolutely pushing to her feet. It was exactly as she'd suspected. It wasn't bad enough that she was dreading going back to Edo to resume her life without her lovers, now there was this as well. "Which room did you say?"

'Kyo and Eduard scrambled to their feet and watched her warily. Both had vivid childhood memories of a temper that could leave scars. "I didn't," the commissioner responded. When she fixed her eerily placid gaze on him and rolled her lips between her teeth, he swallowed hard. "The Dragonfly room."

"Take me there."

The lack of emotion in her voice spooked Eduard, badly. Her screaming and yelling would have been less upsetting by half. "I don't think that's-"

His litany of concerns was interrupted by her holding up her hand. "Take me there. Please."

The interpreter looked to Ukyo, who merely shrugged and sighed. There was no stopping her now, and it was a lot easier to walk with her than to oppose her. The men walked beside her as she approached the room, the silence between them a chain that bound the three of them together. Ukyo slid the door open and he and Ed followed her inside.

Back statue-straight, she spoke in tones that didn't even approach cordial, though she wasn't yelling. Yet. "I was told you wanted to see me."

"Good. You're here." He rose from the table with a sunny smile, smoothing his kimono as he reached out to take her hand. She subtly avoided his touch and moved to stand by the chair to his left. Undaunted by her quiet defiance, he resumed his seat and gestured to the chair. "Okay. Have a seat. We need to talk."

"I'll stand." Nothing about her body language hinted at aggression, but both Ed and Ukyo could tell she was on the verge of erupting.

Natsume blinked at her and then perched primly in his chair. "As you wish." His eyes flickered to her two minders, still waiting motionless by the door. "Would you mind waiting outside?"

Ukyo opened his mouth as Ed moved to do as he was asked, when her voice cut them off with one word. "No."

Natsume regarded her with curiosity. "No?"

She licked her lips and inhaled slowly. "If this is a family matter, then they are family. You can proceed."

Eduard caught Ukyo's sidelong glance and nodded, resuming their position at the door. Honestly? He figured if the interaction became violent, they'd be there to separate the two ninjas. At least, that was his hope.

Her brother rolled his eyes, at her, at them, she didn't know but it was a pretty normal reaction from him. "Fine. Whatever. I sent for you because it's time to go home, and it's time to think about what happens after you get there."

"Meaning?" She knew what he wanted, but she would have him say every word, each one a knife for her to stab him with later.

"Meaning, you were shot. This world," he raised a hand and gestured around him, "it isn't meant for someone like you. I think you should seriously consider giving up being a ninja." As an afterthought, he added, "For your own good, obviously."

"I see."Natsume was a shrewd tactician, and never did anything without a plan, down to every chosen word to leave his lips. So, while she couldn't figure his angle at the moment, she knew he meant what he was saying. At least the part about her leaving. The 'why' however, didn't sound exactly right to her ears. "So I would leave the vigilante, then what?"

His shrug was obviously as practiced as it was exaggerated. "I don't know. You could go home, leave the dangers of Edo and go back to the safety of our village."

"Our village." Neither of them had been home in the years since they'd left, and beyond the occasional letters from their parents, there was nothing left for her there at all. It was also as far away from Nagasaki as she could get without hopping a boat to China.

"Of course." He nodded like he wanted her to agree with him. "Or an equally quiet ninja village. Maybe in Iga? Somewhere you could be safe."

"So it's my safety you're concerned with?" Even as she asked the question, she didn't believe him. Everything about this struck her wrong. This was a conversation that needed to include Kinshiro and honestly? This was not the type of thing she would ever bring to her brother voluntarily.

Natsume closed his book and sat back in his chair, the soul of caring and innocence. "Of course. Seeing you incapacitated was very stressful for me, and really, all the vigilantes. I'm worried that you'll get yourself killed trying to live up to this onnabugeisha-warrior standard that just isn't necessary. It's never been necessary."

"Not necessary," she repeated, her mind twisting and turning over his words as she unraveled the intentions behind them.

"Not at all," he confirmed. "Besides, even if you remain in the vigilante, if Tsubaki takes a run at the Shogun, all your heroics and nonsense will have been for naught anyway.

She nodded slightly as the clouds around his intentions with this little 'talk' began to dissipate. He could never hide his dismissiveness and scorn for very long, and his word choices gave him away. Nothing she ever did would be good enough for him, and clearly that would never change. "So, leave the vigilante, resign from the magistrate's office, and go home. To do what, exactly?"

If he noticed how she'd spit out the question, he didn't act like it, his tone now cajoling instead of merely haughty. "You could have a good life there, happy. Find someone, maybe settle down, have a few kids. Anything but this."

It was the last statement that cast everything in clarity. He wanted her to leave, not only because he'd never found her suitable as a ninja, but because her accomplishments in the field eclipsed his own. That's all this was, a frontal assault designed to push her aside and to remove her perceived threat to his place among the Edo Vigilante. All these years of fighting and silence, and all it was, all it ever was, was simple jealousy. That made her next move, her coup de grace, even easier for her. She inhaled deeply and knew what her answer was. "No."

Natsume blinked. "I'm sorry?"

Kitsune advanced on her brother slowly, each sentence bringing her one step closer to him, even as her voice never changed in volume or icy overtones. "No. The answer is no. No, I'm not abandoning my duties to the magistrate. No, I'm not resigning from the vigilante." She had a blade out of her robes and against his throat before any of them could move to stop her. Now that she had his full attention, she snatched him from the chair and marched him backward until his head hit the wall and he had nowhere else to go.

"Kitsune, be reasonab-!"

"I'm not finished!" she roared, emphasizing each word with a slight shake to ensure he was abundantly clear on her meaning. He was only slightly taller than she was, but she had the advantage of leverage, and if he moved to fight her, he would bleed out on the very spot where he stood. "I am not, under any circumstances, going to leave and go home and start popping out babies because you think that's my station in life."

"Kitsu-" Ukyo warned as he stood next to her, poised to stop her or at least attempt to.

Natsume's tiny squeak of fear was gratifying to hear, even as her rage urged her to finish the job. She leaned in until her lips were right by his ear, and whispered, "I am not your pawn, I am not your charge, and I am not your responsibility. And if I ever hear you bring it up again, Kinshiro will be looking for two new ninjas instead of just one." She let him sit with that threat for a moment, before replacing her tanto in its secreted scabbard and returning to her spot next to the table. Her lovers exhaled visibly, even as her brother still looked frozen in terror. "Understand me, brother, we will not have the conversation again." She turned on her heel having blasted all the skin from his bones, leaving three breathless and terrified men in her wake.

The pain of his rejection was but an old memory for her, faint in its piquancy, she was all but immune. Betrayal, though… His attempts to deprive her of the family she'd come to know, love, live and shed blood with, that could be seen as nothing but, and it cut so deep. So deep. The Vigilante themselves were more family to her than he had ever been. Edo was her home. He wanted to take her home from her. Not to mention her men…

Kitsune's skin felt hot from the absolute fury boiling inside of her, like a hot spring ready to burst forth like a geyser. The idea of going home, to practically the northernmost point of the country essentially put her a lifetime away from Ukyo and Eduard. Her conversation with her brother had made something else clear to her: she would not give them up, for any reason. As to how that affected her life on the larger scale, she hadn't quite sorted that part out, but this, this was something she could swear to.

She heard her lovers' approach before they knocked, hushed whispers and murmurs slipping up the hall and under her door to announce them. In truth, she hadn't meant to leave all of them there together, but when the choice was leave the room or kill her brother with her own hands? She opted for the more restrained answer.

She was honestly glad they'd stayed to hear the fight. Her brother had a habit of being quite hurtful and hateful to her, but only out of earshot. This time, there were witnesses. He couldn't deny what had transpired between them or run and tattle to Kinshiro with an inflated tale of her aggressions and transgressions. Not that there would be much to inflate.

Throwing the door wide at the first rap of knuckles on the wood, she reached out and yanked both of them into her room by a handful of their lapels and practically slammed it shut behind them. The anger she'd nursed only moments before had shifted slightly, into something no less hot, but certainly less mayhem-oriented.

Kitsune pulled Ukyo down for a deep, devouring kiss before favoring Eduard with the same treatment. When she'd finished, both men watched her warily, not moving.

Seeing that she wasn't getting quite the reaction she'd hoped for, she shifted gears. Tugging at her obi sash, she made sure they watched as it pooled around her feet. "I don't want to talk about it," she informed them as she slowly peeled back her kimono. She crooked a finger to beckon them closer and they were at her side in an instant, their large, rough hands wandering over each exposed inch of skin. "I just need to feel. I need you."

She wound her fingers through Eduard's blond hair and kissed him deeply. His moan vibrated through her as her tongue sinuated and tangled with his. His waistcoat and shirt buttons were casualties in her search for bare skin, his heated flesh searing hers wherever they touched. When she broke the kiss, her breathing labored and lips swollen and burning from the contact, she knew this was the only balm her soul needed. She glided her hand down to the button of his trousers as she turned her attentions to Ukyo.

While she'd been making out with the interpreter, her commissioner had been busy nibbling on her neck and shoulders as he cupped her breast in one hand while the other wandered. His soft touch was so perfect, unerring as he zeroed in on the spot that had her grinding against him in no time. There was no mistaking the arousal that nudged her lower back through his hakama pants as he nipped at her ear. Sealing his lips with hers, she tasted the desire for her that he wore on his sleeve. He loved her freely and exuberantly, with a contagious, effusive joy that made her melt every time.

This was what she needed in life. This was all.

Her men, her lovers. Her family. The rest would have to sort itself out.