Chapter 37
"How wonderful it would be if people did all they could for one other without seeking anything in return! One should never remember a kindness done, and never forget a kindness received." ― Kentetsu Takamori
"I see. So you let it escape…" Otou-san said after Heisuke's report on what had happened last night.
We had all failed to capture and dispose of the escaped rasetsu from last night and now sat in the main hall, exhausted, in a meeting to discuss what should be done regarding the situation. I leaned my tired frame against Souji as the morning rays began to filter into the room. Everyone was exhausted after that long fruitless night. After the rasetsu escaped headquarters last night, we had all split up and searched Kyoto before the sun rose. Because of the relatively little manpower we could use to look for the rasetsu, our efforts went wasted when Heisuke allowed the rasetsu to escape after encountering it once with Ibuki-kun.
"At any rate, he can't move in the day. He should be in hiding somewhere. Continue your patrols throughout the day like normal." Hijikata-san ordered. "Don't let the other members catch on."
"The true race will begin after the sun sets." Sannan-san added while pushing his glasses higher up his nose. "I shall join you tonight."
As soon as Sannan-san finished speaking, Heisuke suddenly slammed both of his fists against the ground as he prostrated himself on the floor in front of Hijikata-san.
"Hijikata-san, I'm sorry!" Heisuke cried in distress.
"N-No!" Ibuki-kun rushed in to defend his friend. "It's my fault that Heisuke—"
"I hesitated!" Heisuke continued, interrupting Ibuki-kun. "Even though he's a monster, he was once a person. He wasn't someone I would have originally killed…"
"That hesitation could lead to even more victims." Hijikata-san said firmly, voicing the harsh truth before standing up. "Heisuke, there won't be a second time."
Heisuke remained in his dogeza as everyone began to filter out of the room. Poor Heisuke, he had a strong moral sense, but it seemed that it was a hindrance in this case. Sometimes the best choice was one that was morally wrong. The death of that single rasetsu could have prevented the death of many possible victims.
"Shizuka," Souji said quietly as he pulled me to my feet, "you should go get some sleep. You look completely spent."
"I'm sure everyone else does too." I replied quietly with a tired smile. "I need to speak to Heisuke first, and then cook some food for everyone as a pick-me-up before I go get some rest. You need to get some rest in too before the search resumes tonight, okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry. I won't overwork myself." he said before leaving the room with the other guys.
When everyone, but Heisuke had left the room, I went to his side and placed a gentle hand on his back.
"You should get up now." I said softly to Heisuke, referring to his bowed position. "While remaining in a dogeza may show everyone how sorry you are, it will ultimately not solve the problem."
Heisuke still remained in his dogeza after I finished speaking. He tightened his fists at my words before uttering a single word.
"How?"
"'How' what?" I asked, not understanding what he was asking.
He raised his head and looked me in the eye, as if he were searching for an answered lost deep within me.
"How were you able to kill that rasetsu that night without hesitation or remorse?" he clarified. "While you do know how to fight, you weren't trained as a warrior. You weren't trained to kill. So how?"
"Because I killed that rasetsu for the sake of protecting my loved ones, not for the sake of killing." I answered gently, "Protecting those important to you is very different from killing in cold-blooded murder."
"That man was a ronin, but he wasn't someone I would have killed in the first place. While he may have done some bad things, he wasn't a murderer. He doesn't deserve death. How can you kill someone like that?"
"He may have originally been someone you would not have killed, but he is an out-of-control rasetsu now. What he once was has no bearing on what he is now. Sometimes a single death can save many lives. It is the burden of the guardian to deliver that killing blow to ensure that the people he is supposed to protect remain safe." I explained. "You would not only be protecting the people when you kill him, but you would also be showing the man mercy."
"How would I be showing that man mercy when I'm the one ending his life?" Heisuke asked, feeling conflicted.
"Do you think that man would have wanted to become what he is now?" I asked gently. "If he wanted to just go around killing people indiscriminately, then he would have become a serial killer instead of a robber. That man did not want to live like the creature he has become. Some fates are worse than death."
"… I see…" Heisuke said, tearing his eyes away from mine to stare at the ground. "Will I ever become accustom to killing?"
"Some do and some don't. If you can't that does not mean you're weak. You know what is right and what is wrong with an uncompromising conscience and will not yield just because the other path is easier. That is the mark of a strong man, not a weak man."
"How is it you always know what to say, Shizuka?" he asked me with a small smile after a moment of silence. "It's almost like you have the experience of a previous life to draw on."
"Yeah, strange isn't it?" I said with a smile of my own as I stood up and pulled Heisuke up to his feet. He has no clue how close he was with that statement. "But I can't say I got this from any previous life. I learned this when I decided to pick up a weapon and learn how to defend myself. I'm going to the kitchen now to cook something for everyone to eat to refresh their strength. Do you want to help me?"
"Yeah… Thanks." Heisuke said as he followed me into the kitchen.
The sun was setting. It was time to continue the search for the rasetsu. The search during the day had proved fruitless when no clues that could have lead to the rasetsu's whereabouts was found. Everyone, including Ibuki-kun, was now gathering in the main hall as we all prepared for the night's search.
"Outsiders must not learn of the Bakufu's secret elixir." said Sannan-san when everyone arrived at the main hall.
"And we cannot allow people to fall victims to the rasetsu's hands." added Otou-san.
"We will finish things tonight." said Hijikata-san. "We'll work in pairs so if someone finds the rasetsu, he won't be alone. Shinpachi you're with Harada, Souji with Gen-san, Saito with Sannan-san, Heisuke with Shizuka, and finally Kondou-san and I. Don't let it get away."
"Right!" everyone replied before we began to trickle out the room in our pairs. This was going to be another long night.
"Heisuke," Ibuki-kun called out as we all began to leave the compound for the search, "please take me with you and Shizuka!"
"Ryunosuke…" Heisuke said as he paused to look back at Ibuki-kun. I stopped walking to wait for Heisuke as soon as he had paused walking.
"I'm partly responsible for him getting away." Ibuki-kun reasoned. "And couldn't you use an extra pair of eyes?"
"Yeah, but…" Heisuke started, but stopped when he saw the determination in Ibuki-kun's eyes. That determination was something Heisuke understood well. "Got it. But in exchange, please do whatever I tell you. No matter what, don't do anything risky!"
"Okay!" Ibuki-kun exclaimed in appreciation.
"Let's go." I said before we set off again.
For a creature with no form of any of type logic, that rasetsu was notoriously difficult to locate. Hours had passed and there was not a single sign that could point us to the rasetsu. Maybe we were going about the search the wrong way? It no longer operated on the logic that normal humans did, so how was it making its choices of where to go and what to do? Too bad the first rasetsu didn't live long enough for us to determine why it was always attacking humans.
"Hey, guys?" I called out to Heisuke and Ibuki-kun to grab their attention.
"What is it?" asked Heisuke as he and Ibuki-kun paused to look at me.
"We all know that rasetsu have no power of thought, so how does it decide where to go and what to do? If we can figure out what drives its actions then wouldn't it be easier to predict its movements?"
"Oh, that makes sense." Ibuki-kun answered as he put his thumb on his chin. "If we can figure out the pattern in its actions then we'll know where to look."
"Well," said Heisuke, "we know it doesn't like lights, but attacks people... That means that it won't be near the main streets. There are the most people on the main streets, but there are too many lights because of that."
"It attacks people, but I get the feeling that it'll run away if there are too many people." I said. "Remember when it ran away last night? It ran away because everyone came running to the source of the disturbance. But why does it attack people?"
"What do you mean 'why'?!" asked Ibuki-kun. "It's a monster and that's what monsters do right?"
"It's never as simple as that. All things happen for a reason. We can't say that 'it attacks people just because', right?" I pointed out. "There must be a reason it attacks people… something that it's after? Maybe it eats humans?"
"Gah!" cried Heisuke while looking sick. "Don't say something nasty like that!"
"That's seriously gross." Ibuki-kun agreed with a disgusted expression. "But she does have a point. We should search the back alleys between the buildings. It's dark back there with people occasionally passing through to get home—"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" a woman's scream rang through the night from a close location. Don't tell me that it's a victim.
"Over there!" Heisuke shouted, taking the lead as we ran into a backstreet, towards the source of the scream.
We came to a stop at a dead end as we spotted the escaped rasetsu on the roof of a building with the moon as its backdrop. Ibuki-kun's eyes widened in slight terror as Heisuke hardened his gaze and gripped the handle of his sword. Following Heisuke's example, I grabbed my own weapon and readied it in front of me.
"Ryunosuke, look after that lady." Heisuke ordered as he pulled his sword free of its scabbard. "Shizuka, check the lady for any injuries. This is my fight, don't get involved."
"Alright." I answer before running after Ibuki-kun to go inspect the woman. There were no injuries on her. She must have fainted from fright.
As soon as Heisuke drew his sword, the rasetsu leapt from the roof to smash Heisuke. Heisuke quickly leapt to the left causing the rasetsu's attack to miss. The smash hit the ground causing a miniature crater to form around the rasetsu's fist. Without a pause, the creature lashed out at Heisuke with its foot only to miss again as Heisuke jumped back. The creature tirelessly resumed its attack after each miss as Heisuke continued to dodge. While it was excellent that Heisuke was dodging every attack, he hadn't attacked back yet even though there were many opportunities to. He was still hesitating. There was no way he could subdue the creature without attacking it with the intent to kill.
"Heisuke!" I cried as I grabbed my weapon when Heisuke was backed into the wall of the dead end. This rasetsu was stronger than then first one if I judged it by the damage it was doing to the surroundings from each missed attack. It was over if Heisuke got hit.
"Stay back!" Heisuke yelled back at me as he rolled out of the way of the rasetsu's lunge.
Unable to stop itself, the rasetsu's attack hit the building that was once behind Heisuke at full force. From the power behind the attack, the wall could not stop the rasetsu as it smashed through the building causing the side of the building to collapse.
Shit. How were we going to cover that up? It was easy to hide a single rasetsu from the public eye, but the damage caused by one? Not so much.
Completely unfazed by the damage it did to itself from that missed attack, the creature stood up again to face Heisuke. The arm that was mangled from punching through the wall made disturbing popping sounds as the broken bones forced themselves back into place to heal. It was at that moment Heisuke must of have realized something. Heisuke hardened himself as the rasetsu rushed at him with unparalleled speed. With a single, skilled slash of his sword, Heisuke injured the creature as it lunged past him. The creature landed in an injured heap behind Heisuke as it slowly began to heal again. Heisuke approached the downed creature and raised his sword over his head before he brought it down to stab the creature in the heart, splattering blood all over his front. The rasetsu cried out in pain while twitching before it permanently stilled. The rasetsu was dead. It was over now.
Heisuke stood hunched over the dead rasetsu with his sword still in it as he panted over his actions. Sensing something was amiss, Ibuki-kun approached Heisuke with concern.
"Heisuke, are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah…" Heisuke answered with a strained voice as he pulled his sword out of the corpse. "How's the lady?"
"She only passed out from fright." I answered instead.
"Thank the gods…" Heisuke said with relief before he sadly stared at his bloodstained hands. "I choose to walk the path of the warrior. I will cut down any one who stands against my beliefs. So I am going to continue to kill, to kill and to kill… But will I ever grow accustom to this…?"
"… Heisuke…" I said sadly as I went to hug him to comfort him. "You might never grow accustom to killing, but you'll never be alone. Your friends will never let you suffer on your own, please don't forget that."
"… Shizuka… you're getting blood on yourself." Heisuke said despite dropping his sword to hug me back.
"I know, but I don't care." I answered. "Everything will be alright."
The aftermath of that fight was difficult to deal with. In the end, the damage from the fight had to be hidden using an "accidental fire" that started from a "dropped lantern." The woman that was attacked that night, thankfully, did not remember much of her encounter with the rasetsu and assume that it was just a rapist on the loose and that the Roshigumi had saved her from being raped. The ruckus from the fight, however, was the most difficult to deal with. People had heard the fight and they weren't stupid. They had known that something rather serious was going on and we were lucky that no one came to investigate the loud sounds. To clear up all suspicions, we had to get Kyoko-chan and Kenji-san to spread rumors of a fight between ronin to blame the noise and the "fire" on. All in all, the mess resulting from the escaped rasetsu cleaned up rather well with no loose ends, besides Niimi.
One would think that after we dealt with that single escaped rasetsu that things would calm down more, but the opposite was the case. Unwilling to have another situation where another rasetsu could actually manage to escape the headquarters, Hijikata-san, Sannan-san, and Otou-san had increased surveillance over Niimi. The duties for the other captains also became heavier despite having a few new recruits to depend upon. However, one could argue that the captains' duties became heavier because of the recruits. Training up the new recruits did take time and effort. So, even late into the Hour of the Dog, Souji had not returned from his duties yet. He and Saito-san were both stuck with late night patrols for the week and were made instructors of the new recruits on top of that. I quietly worked on my medical notes in the privacy of Souji's and mine room as I waited for Souji to return. As I was finishing up a diagram of the arteries and veins in the human body, the door slid open and Souji entered the room with a tired sigh before he closed the door again.
"Stupid moron…" he mutter under his breath as he removed his swords from his hip and placed them on the stand above his side of the futon. "Of course a real sword is going to be heavier than a bamboo sword. It IS made from metal…"
"A long day?" I asked sympathetically as I rose from my seated position and went to go hug him from behind.
"You try dealing with idiots the whole day and then tell me how you feel." he said as he relaxed into my embrace and put his hands over mine.
"That would be trying for anyone." I snorted as I let my one of my hands fall to his lower regions before I cupped him through the cloth of his pants. "Need me to help you de-stress from the day?"
"Ohhh…" he groaned from my touch as he eagerly pressed his pelvis into my hand. "Well, I certainly won't refuse it if you're offering."
Souji turned around to slowly kiss me on the lips before he slipped his tongue into my mouth to meet my tongue. He ran his hands up and down my waist before quickly moving his hands to pull the cord holding up my hakama loose. Without the cord holding it in place, my hakama dropped to the floor as my hakamashita fell open. Slowly removing his lips from mine, he dragged his lips slowly downwards and latched on to my left breast when my breast came into the proximity of his mouth.
"Mmm… Souji…" I quietly sighed in pleasure as he began to suck on my nipple while his hands went to hold my hips in place as he pressed his growing erection against my lower stomach.
I pulled his hair out of his topknot before running my fingers through his hair. I quickly removed my kanzashi from my hair afterwards and pulled my hair out of its bun before working to remove Souji's clothing. As soon as I removed the last offending piece of clothing, Souji released my breast and moved back up to kiss me on the lips before picking me up bridal-style and walking towards the futon. Thankfully, on the way to the futon, he grabbed a spare towel and laid it on top of the futon before placing me on top. Knowing that I would have to spend the morning washing out the futon would have really killed my mood and, thankfully, Souji thought of that.
After laying me on top of the towel on the futon he crawled over me and nipped the tip of my ear.
"So," he whispered sensationally into my ear as his hot breath tickled me, "is there anything you would like me to do?"
I let loose a small giggle as his fingers lightly brushed against my bare navel.
"Surprise me." I whispered coyly back to him as I ran a single hand down his waist before resting it on his hip.
"Surprise you, huh?" he said with a sly grin before lowering himself to press a kiss directly above my womb. "Alright then, where should I start? Hmm…I know…"
With gentle pressure, he rubbed my inner thighs with his hands before spreading my legs and rubbing the small nub above my opening.
"Oh…" I quietly moaned at his administrations.
"Always so quiet, huh?" Souji chuckled. "Just like your namesake. Let's see if I can get you to cry out louder before tonight ends." he said before increasing the friction before pushing a finger into me.
"Ah! Souji!" I gasped out as my hip buckled up against his hands.
"Louder than before, but still not loud enough." he said with a wolfish grin before slowly pushing another finger into me while speeding up his administrations.
I cried out once more as Souji decided to begin pumping his fingers in and out of me with one hand and sped up rubbing my nub with the other. Then he suddenly stopped and pulled both hands away, letting me catch my breath as I laid panting on the futon. He looked at the fluid coating his fingers curiously before smirking at me.
"Let's try something new now since you did ask me to surprise you." he said while playing with the fluid covering his hands.
"S-Something new?" I asked curiously as I continued to pant.
Instead of answering me, he placed his hands on my inner thighs to hold my legs apart before lowering his mouth to my nub and licking it. That instantly sent a warm tingling feeling up my spine as my inner muscles clenched.
"AH!" I cried out loudly.
I felt Souji grin against me as he continued to lick my nether regions. He grabbed my hips to firmly hold me in place as my back arched and as I began to squirm against him. As if he decided that just licking wasn't enough anymore, he sucked on my nub quickly before he pushed his tongue inside of me and continued his licking in there. I cried out once more and could not stop my moans as my hands flew tightly grip the blankets below me.
"S-SOUJI!" I managed to cry out between my moans. "AH!"
Just as I was about to come, Souji quickly pulled away from me, much to my disappointment.
"You're not allowed to come yet. Not before I've entered you." he whispered in my ear again as he crawled back on top of me.
As soon as he settled back on the top I quickly rolled on top of him and pinned him to the futon.
"It should be my turn now." I said, catching my breath while sitting on top of him before I lowered myself to kiss him.
"Mmm… Be my guest." he grinned from below.
After sucking on his neck briefly, I sat back up and began tracing outlines of his muscles lightly while slowly moving towards his erection. As soon as my fingertips reached his erection, I lightly traced the bulging vein on the side of his penis up to the tip and slowly back down.
"Ngh!" Souji groaned as his hips buckled upwards.
I slowly and lightly wrapped my hands around his penis and applied some pressure as I began rubbing it and pumping it slowly, slowly increasing the pressure and speed over time.
"Shizuka, faster!" he moaned as he pressed himself further into my hands.
I smiled slyly at his demand and stopped all movement of my hands to give the tip of his erection a light and slow lick before releasing my hold on him.
Souji groaned at my actions before glaring slightly at me. "That was dirty." he complained.
"That was nothing yet." I said slyly.
I raised myself and positioned my opening over his erection before slowly lowering myself onto him. He gave a loud groan as he fully entered me and as he placed his hands on my hips. Instead of instantly speeding up like what he would've wanted, I slowly and torturously raise myself up before lowering myself back onto him.
"Shizuka," he groaned at me like he was in pain, "stop torturing me. Faster."
"Nope." I whispered into his ear as I slowed down even more to tease him.
"Shizuka, please! You're killing me here!"
"Fine, maybe just a little." I said, speeding up a tiny bit before slowing down more than before, repeating the long and torturous cycle.
Finally having enough of my torture, Souji quickly flipped me over and pulled out.
Oops. Did I go too far and make him mad? Before I had the chance to apologize for teasing him so much, he rolled me onto my side and roughly pushed into me from behind while grabbing my hips, making me gasp.
"Ah!" I cried.
"I can't wait anymore." Souji said with a strained voice as he pounded roughly into me from behind. "I need you now. Ngh!"
Before long, a warm pressure was building within as our moans and gasps intertwined. I was going to come soon—
"AHHHWAWHA!" a loud cry not belonging to either of us suddenly came from outside followed by the sound of wood breaking, freezing both of us in place. That was a rasetsu's cry! Seriously! Of all the times another one of Niimi's experiments had to break loose.
"FUCK!" Souji snarled out angrily as he pulled out before we both quickly scrambled to get dressed again. "I will really fucking kill Niimi-san this time!"
Quickly tying my hair up into a messy ponytail after getting dressed we both grabbed our weapons and ran towards the source of the disturbance.
"What took you so long, Souji?!" Hijikata-san yelled as we arrived at the scene. "Nevermind! Just go cut off the rasetsu's escape path and drive it towards Saito! Saito go that way!"
In a quick and precise pincer movement everyone cut off the rasetsu's escape route, forcing it to jump over the wall into Saito-san's well prepared range. After it jumped over the wall, we quickly ran around the wall to see if Saito-san managed to eliminate his target. Standing in front of Ibuki-kun, who was in his sleepwear and had come outside to investigate the noise, Saito stood over the corpse of the rasetsu that had been pierced through the heart. Hijikata-san then turned to glare at Niimi, who stood far behind everyone, as soon as he was sure the rasetsu was dead. With all the escapes the rasetsu had recently been committing, everyone was getting quite adapt at cutting them down before they actually left headquarters.
"Niimi-san, you're really becoming a nuisance." Souji said with a dark glare. He was the only one that did not sheath his weapon after the rasetsu had been killed. "If this happens again, I really will kill you next time."
Clearly frightened at Souji's dark threat and Hijikata-san's glare, Niimi pathetically scrambled to run away. When it was clear that Niimi was no longer within proximity, Hijikata-san turned back around to scold Souji.
"You'd be breaking the Code if you killed him without orders!" Hijikata-san harshly scolded at Souji.
"I don't care." Souji snorted at Hijikata-san. "One interruption like this is enough to last a lifetime."
"By interruption do you mean…" Sano-san started and trailed off as his eyes landed on Souji's still prevalent erection. Several people turned bright red as their eyes landed on what Sano-san was staring at. No one had noticed it during the short battle nor was the battle long enough for it to disappear.
"Why else do you think I'm so pissed right now?" Souji said with an unimpressed tone. "What did you think was interrupted?"
"Ahem! Right…" Hijikata-san cleared his throat awkwardly as he looked at me and Souji. "We're done here, so you can go… Well, you know…"
Without saying anything else, Souji grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder, causing me to drop my naginata.
"Souji! Wait, my naginata!" I exclaimed from over his shoulders as he marched back towards our room.
"Someone will pick it up and return it to you later." Souji said gruffly without pausing his steps. "We have some unfinished business I don't want to put off any further."
When we returned to the privacy of our room, Souji quickly closed the door again before he put me down. As soon as my feet touched the ground, he swiftly pushed me up against a wall and untied my hakama. He growled unhappily at the cord of my hakama as he tugged it loose. When my hakama came loose once again, he instantly pulled it down and inserted a finger into my core.
"Souji!" I gasped at the sudden invasion.
"Good, you're still wet." he said, sounding almost strained, as he pulled his finger out so he could untie his own hakama. "That means we don't have to start from the beginning again."
Within a few seconds of removing his finger, his member quickly replaced it as he pushed into me, causing me to gasp again. As soon as he was within me, he pinned me to the wall and held me up from my rear after he wrapped my legs around his waist. Zero points for guessing how the rest of the night went.