I feel bad about giving y'all such a short chapter this week. Rest assured that the next chapter will be posted a little sooner to make up for it.
Tonight was the night. Kagura had been dressed and made up to perfection. As she walked down the main street, parasol in hand, she was flanked by an entourage of courtesans dressed in bright colors. They paraded down the thoroughfare like a mobile garden while spotlights followed them. All Kagura had to do was keep her face forward and her expression carefully neutral as patrons gathered round to witness the spectacle.
According to Hinowa, it has been over ten years since a star courtesan last made a public display such as this. She was the hottest news of the decade. Kagura could feel just how big a deal her debut was by the eyes drilling into her from every direction. She'd never seen the streets of Yoshiwara so packed.
On cue, she twirled her parasol and the procession stopped momentarily to acknowledge the audience. Kagura cast off her impassive veneer and put on a radiant smile. She turned first to the left, sweeping her gaze across the faces in the crowd before smoothly swiveling her neck to do the same with the right. Her acknowledgement caused the audience to give excited hoots and Kagura had to try very hard not to let her smile stretch into a grin at all the adoring attention she was receiving.
It was every girl's dream to charm men with a look. Eat your hearts out, she thought as she gave her parasol another twirl and continued on.
The procession took a total of about ten minutes and ended at Hinowa's abode. Hinowa herself was there to receive her, standing with the help of a carefully hidden crutch. She bowed low before Kagura, just as they'd practiced, and the crowd went wild. In their eyes, the Sun had officially passed her torch to Yoshiwara's next Tougenkyou-joou.
Hinowa gestured for her to enter the establishment and once the doors were shut she squealed and grabbed Kagura's hands. "You were brilliant, Kagura-chan! Your star quality was through the roof tonight!"
Kagura grinned and smugly swiped a thumb across her nose. "Of course! I was born to be a star, after all."
To Kagura's right, a door opened, revealing Tsukuyo. The pale-haired courtesan of death ran a hand through her hair and cast a harried look at the closed doors at Kagura's back. "I wonder if we overdid it. They've already commenced the first night's bidding and there's some serious cash being thrown at our budding new star."
Upon hearing the words serious cash, Kagura's eyes promptly lit up with yen symbols. It was like all her most fantastical dreams were coming true. Not only was she about to earn boat loads of money, she got to be a princess while doing it. Forget being the queen of Kabuki-cho—Yoshiwara was a far more amazing kingdom.
"Well, I'd better go and give the room a final check-over. Kagura, you wait in the shop. I'll call you up in a minute."
Kagura nodded and proceeded through the door Tsukuyo had just come from. Hinowa followed behind her, shakily maneuvering with her crutch. The gate was down, blocking the inside of the store from view, but Kagura could hear the crowd still talking excitedly about her just outside.
"Now, Kagura-chan, in a few minutes you're going to be entertaining your very first guest. Do you want to go over anything again while we have time?"
Kagura sat herself on one of the benches and shook her head. "I remember everything you taught me." She gave Hinowa a confident smile. "From here on out, it's up to me."
Hinowa returned her smile, her expression full of pride. "You're going to be fabulous. Just remember; only do what you're comfortable doing. Start slow and focus on pumping as much liquor into him as you can. Once you give him the draught, it'll take about sixty seconds to take effect. Use that time to give him a nice memory for tomorrow."
Kagura nodded. "Got it. I'll blast him with the full force of my feminine charm!"
She might not be experienced in the ways that men and women behaved behind closed doors, but Pappy always said the Yato were a sexual race. It was because he'd thought with his balls that he'd married her mammy and had her and Kamui. She was certain her instincts would be enough to carry her through this.
And if not… well, she could always try some of the things she'd seen in Gin-chan's porn mags.
"Kagura, the room is all ready to go. You can come on up."
Tsukuyo had returned. It was time.
Kagura nodded. "Coming, Tsukky!" With a grunt of effort, she rose from the bench to follow her friend. She'd advanced a total of four steps when an unexpected metallic glint from the floor caught her eye, stopping her. She looked down and her eyes found Sougo's handcuffs, still lying just under the bench where she'd dropped them. In all the fuss of the Yoshiwara killings, she'd completely forgotten about them.
It was a strain in all the layers she was wrapped in, but she bent down and plucked the cuffs from the ground. She brought them to her face and took a moment to study them. The sadist's personalized message was just barely visible in the room's low light.
'Enjoy this token of my deepest affection. -Sougo'
Despite herself, a tiny smile tugged at Kagura's lips. It was these stupid things that had started all this. If she hadn't come to Yoshiwara to get these off that day, she wouldn't be here now, dressed like a garden princess and about to hunt down a killer.
Che. Always getting me into trouble, she thought with a wash of fondness that caught her off guard. She could almost hear his reply in her head.
That's my line, you trouble-making brat.
Kagura mentally gave Sougo the finger and slipped the cuffs into one of the folds of her kimono. They could end up being useful later.
Not dallying any longer, she hurried after Tsukuyo. She had a customer to meet.
oOo
Five times in eleven days.
Five hunting jobs; five crime syndicates wiped from the streets of Edo, all in under two weeks. Not that Sougo particularly minded the work, but even the brass had to realize that so many disposal jobs in such a short amount of time was excessive. If they want an assassin why not hire a damn ninja? he groused in the privacy of his mind.
He supposed it couldn't be helped. Someone had to do the ugly jobs and his skills were well-known within the Shinsengumi. The higher ups had finally realized there was no point in sending a whole division to do a job Sougo could handle on his own.
"It's him!"
The slapping of footsteps echoed from every direction as an order was barked to surround him. Sougo watched the ring of men form, his eyes scanning each individual to get an idea of the sorts of weapons they were carrying.
No guns. This would be beyond easy.
The circle of men watched him back uneasily. No doubt they knew his reputation. If they knew what was good for them, they'd run. The smart thing to do would be to scatter and attempt to get away while he picked off individuals. Gangs like this were never smart, though. Such an idea would only occur to them after he'd taken out the brunt of their forces, and by then it would be too late.
"Oy," a finely dressed man who was obviously in charge called to him, a fat cigar bobbing between his teeth. "You the bastard who took out Tendou's group?"
Sougo turned his gaze on the man with apathetic eyes. Why did thugs like these always feel like chatting? "Who knows," he called back tonelessly. "I don't have a very good memory for names."
This was a lie, of course. Sougo just liked watching his targets' faces distort in rage when he baited them. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and in response the crowd of thugs grabbed their own weapons threateningly.
"Why, you—!" The boss spat out his cigar and drew his katana. "I'll make sure you remember our name, government lapdog!"
If he had a hundred yen for every time a criminal called him that…
Sougo was fully prepared to be rushed, as could be reasonably expected after such a threat, but the thugs hung back. They were looking at each other nervously.
Oh? What's this now? Sougo wondered, almost interested by their reluctance to spring to their deaths.
"I-I don't know about this, Boss," one of the men spoke up. He was a smallish man with unexceptional features. "Look at him. He's got the eyes of a killer."
Perhaps this group had some brains after all.
"I don't know why people always say that," Sougo called back, injecting some false indignation into his voice. "Hijikata's the one with the slasher-eyes." He shook his head and slowly sank into a ready stance. "I'm not such a bad guy, really. I'm fine with merely locking you up for the rest of your lives if you give up and come quietly. You don't have to die."
The boss scoffed. Unlike his subordinates, he didn't look like he was ready to budge an inch. "And just how do you think you're going to arrest us all by yourself? Do you expect us to throw down our swords and obediently walk to jail? Don't make me laugh!"
Sougo shrugged one shoulder indifferently. "It's all the same to me whatever you choose to do. But if anyone here doesn't feel like losing their entrails all over the street, I'll give you to the count of three to go line up against that wall." He gestured with a toss of his head to the side of a building a few feet behind him. "One…"
Some of the men clutched their swords more tightly while others looked at each other unsurely.
"Two…"
The boss snarled and shouted overtop his counting. "Don't be intimidated! He's just one man against all of us! Slice him into ribbons or I'll cut your bellies open myself!"
The threat proved effective and in the next moment a sea of raised katanas came charging at Sougo.
In the end, it's just more of the same. Sougo sighed and prepared for impact.
There were some things in this life that he could always count on to hold true. The sun would rise, the rooster would crow, these men were going to die, and he was going to need another bath.