Chapter 2: To Fight for Justice
Note: As usual, standard disclaimers apply. All the Rurouni Kenshin characters
do not belong to me. They are the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony, Jump
comics, Media Blasters, and all those other people who are responsible for
bringing us Rurouni Kenshin. I am merely borrowing them for a short time.
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"Come on, Aoshi-sama! I promised Hideyoshi-ojiisan I would bring you for a visit!" A petite figure trotted along the crowded road excitedly, a few steps ahead of a tall man clad in a dark ninja uniform who silently followed behind. Though his handsome face remained expressionless, the usually inscrutable blue-grey eyes warmed considerably as he watched Misao's antics. She had already run ahead and was impatiently hopping from one foot to another waiting for him to catch up.
"Misao!" he called. "Stop running, you'll fall and hurt yourself."
Misao sighed, but stopped and turned to give the former okashira a bubbly grin. "Whatever you say, Aoshi-sama. But if we're late, you'll have to explain it to Hideyoshi-ojiisan."
With a short nod, Shinomori Aoshi continued walking as Misao fell into step beside him, slowing her breakneck pace to a more sedate one. A quarter hour later, Aoshi and Misao stood at the gates in front of the Hideyoshi home. Misao stopped and stared at the front door, her head cocked to one side. Something wasn't quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The strange silence that permeated the normally boisterous household disturbed her. Turning to the somber man at her side, Misao noticed the hesitation in Aoshi's movements as he suddenly became very still, his penetrating gaze narrowing with suspicion. With a shake of her head, Misao continued to scan the front of the house, searching for the source of her unease. And then it finally hit her.
"Aoshi-sama," she whispered furiously under her breath. "There's something wrong; it's too quiet here. Where are the twins? And look, the gate is open."
As if to emphasize her point, she reached out to poke the wooden gate in front of them which led into the small garden. It swung open with a loud creak, causing Misao to grimace as the sound grated on her ears in the thick silence.
"Eboshi-san would never be careless enough to leave the gate unlocked," she stated in a quiet but emphatic voice. A pair of turquoise eyes met blue-gray ones, and a silent understanding passed between the two ninjas. Giving her a quick but gentle push, Aoshi positioned himself in front of Misao.
"Stay behind me," he instructed under his breath. With a few quick steps he flew over the fence and landed inside the gardens in one smooth movement. Misao was close on his heels, and the two cautiously approached the front door. After a quick look around, Aoshi entered the house and began a meticulous search until he found himself standing in front of the last room left unexamined - the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and slipped through, conscious of Misao's presence behind him. What he saw stopped him cold as he grimly took in the scene before him.
The floor was splattered with red. Two tied up little girls lay side by side in a corner, the state of the corpses clearly showing that they had not died an easy death. Aoshi grimaced as she saw that both their faces were covered with disfiguring bruises, indicating that they had been severely beaten. A woman lay face down in front of the doorway in a pool of blood with a katana piercing her back, the chestnut hair clearly identifying her as Eboshi. Hideyoshi's body was in the center of the room, a pair of kodachi on the floor next to his lifeless hands.
"No," gasped Misao in a choked voice. Aoshi turned back and saw that she was blinking rapidly, her chest rising and falling in labored breaths as she fought to take in air. And then the tight reins she had been keeping on her emotions snapped.
"No!!!" she screamed again, collapsing to her knees as silent tears coursed down her face. Her body rocked back and forth but she made no other sound. Aoshi knelt beside her worriedly, not taking his eyes off the gruesome scene before them. His hands clenched, and after a moment's hesitation, he pulled Misao into his arms as she continued her violent sobbing. The tears fell unchecked as she raised her head, and blue grief-stricken eyes met Aoshi's in anger and confusion.
"Who would do something so horrible?" she asked in a thin voice. Aoshi shook his head, his own eyes blazing with silent fury as Misao continued to cry against his chest.
"I don't know," he replied, the evenness of his tone belying the growing rage he felt. It was one thing to attack two seasoned Oniwabanshu fighters, but murdering two young children in cold blood was truly unforgivable. "But we'll find out, and he will definitely pay for his crimes."
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Later that evening, a weary Aoshi sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor at the temple. His icy eyes, instead of being closed in their normal meditative state, were focused on a small object in his hands. It felt cool to the touch, having been fashioned from delicate silver, and its thin circular shape made it just the perfect size for a human finger. What set it apart from other ordinary rings, however, was the delicate design etched on the inside of the band. It was a design that Shinomori Aoshi recognized instantly. The question was, how had it ended up at the Hideyoshi home in the middle of a murder scene?
Aoshi's disturbing thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor. Turning his head slightly, he raised an eyebrow as he tucked the small object back into his sleeve. "Okina," he greeted quietly.
The elderly man sighed, wondering how someone's instincts could be so sharp despite the lack of practice. As he took a seat beside Aoshi on the floor, he gave his former okashira a grim sidelong glance.
"I heard what happened this afternoon," Okina began gravely. "I'm sorry Okina. I know Hideyoshi Shou was a good friend of yours."
Okina's clear eyes grew foggy and distant as memories played through his mind. "Yes, we were very close even before Misao's grandfather became the okashira. It seems so long agoand now he's dead." Okina's voice, which was normally exuberant, ended on a hard note that wasn't lost on his listener.
"Speaking of Misao, how is she?" Aoshi focused his eyes on the far end of the room, refusing to show any outward concern despite his worries.
"Omasu says she refuses to eat and has spent the entire evening holed up in her room. But she's a strong girl, I believe she'll pull through. At least she's not rushing headfirst into danger yet, which I suppose is a good thing. It's quite difficult to keep up with her once she gets an idea into her head."
Aoshi nodded briefly, and after a short pause Okina continued. "Do you have any idea who might have done this?"
"Not yet. But we cannot let this crime go unpunished. The Hideyoshi family has been an essential part of the Oniwabanshu for a countless number of generations, and it is our duty to bring their killers to justice."
"Are you sure you're ready to take on this task?" The older man examined Aoshi's features carefully, searching for even a tiny flicker of emotion, but found none at all. It's like staring into a brick wall thought Okina tiredly.
"I'm fine," spoke up Aoshi in a perfectly calm voice. "Perhaps its time for me to stop contemplating my many sins and start to atone for them."
Okina nodded. "You examined the house after finding the entire family murdered. Do you have any idea who the killer might be?" Aoshi paused before replying, and after a moment's hesitation he reached into his wide sleeves to pull out the ring he had been intensely studying earlier. "Not yet, but perhaps you can begin by telling me everything you know about this. I found it with Hideyoshi Shou's corpse." He dropped the small object into Okina's open palm and waited expectantly for an answer.
Okina blinked as he stared at the shiny object, turning it over with a frown. Holding it up in order to get a closer look, the dim light from the few candles in the room suddenly reflected off the bright metal, and the older man's eyes widened with recognition as he finally noticed the carvings on the inside of the band.
"But how can this be? Nobody is supposed to have one of these except..." His voice trailed off as looked back up at his companion's face in confusion.
"Except me," finished Aoshi succinctly. "Something tells me we're not dealing with an ordinary killer, and I believe the sooner we find him, the better."
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Notes -
Ummm...I don't know if Meiji Japan had signet rings or not but for the purpose of my fic, I'll assume they do. I know ancient China has had seals and stuff for a long time, so I'll assume that this could have spread to Japan also. According to the other people in my medieval Chinese history seminar, this theory seem probable enough *grins* And I never claimed to be historically accurate.
Hmmm...hope this revised version is better than the last. =)