A Picture of Summer
by: Venusskies
email: venus_skies@excite.com
Standard disclaimers apply.
Author's Notes:
I didn't do much editing in this chapter, but I changed the ending. If you've read this before, then you could just jump to the ending right away. (
Chapter 5: Discovery
I looked up blankly at the huge manor that lay before me. I had never seen anything quite like it back at home. Stone walls, marble floors, exquisite tapestries, antiques, crystalline chandeliers and red carpets, I never knew, had so much effect on me. That was inside. The outside... Mazes of greenery, such immaculate daisies, roses and tulips in an array of colors, just like rainbows! And the fountains, statues of marble 'spitting' water. I have never been to a garden as beautiful as this one. Truly, the Western touch is something to behold.
Chiharu held my hand as Dave toured us inside his home, explaining everything on the things we asked about, even the background history. Stuff such as 'baroque period' or 'late renaissance' came from his mouth, stuff which I didn't have the least inkling of. I could tell that he was very proud of the manor from the way he talked, and, who wouldn't be? I never knew his father's business would make them filthy rich... Hmm. Perhaps I should consider changing my career... But then something in their house reminded me of something I have neglected in the three months I have been frolicking.
Dave led us to one of Phillip's favorite places in the manor, the "Fencing Hall". It looked more like an artillery room to me though. The floor was made of wood, unlike most parts of the manor. A line of cannons and guns were displayed on the front. There were huge portraits of army men in their uniforms, proudly wearing their medals and shields hanging on the left side, while a row of blades was on the right. I saw the familiar katana and Japanese sword among them, and the faithful bokken I use in everyday training. Training? Oh god. I have completely forgotten my training! I must've forgotten a few of my moves, or maybe I just couldn't perform them that well. Unwittingly I walked towards the bokken, ignoring the company I had.
"Kaoru-san," Dave had began, but Chiharu interrupted him.
"Kaoru-chan practices kenjutsu back at Japan. She's the assistant master at her family's dojo. I guess she misses her training," Chiharu said. David just nodded in recognition.
I was about to hold the bokken when I remembered that I hadn't asked for permission. I guess I was so used to home, where I could just take anything I wanted without asking permission. I looked back at Dave, my eyes asking a silent question. He seemed to understand since he nodded in reply.
"I'd like to see your kenjutsu," he said.
I smiled at him and took the bokken.
"Go on Kaoru-chan," Chiharu urged. "Show him what you're made of."
My smile widened, a slight blush tingeing my cheeks. Then I walked to the center of the room.
"I guess I could move in this," I said aloud, twirling around to see if my skirt would flutter like a balloon. It did, and satisfied, I positioned myself to begin.
Silently I performed the most basic moves of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, starting off with ten swings. My audience was applauding me politely, and Dave seemed very amused that a woman could hold a sword. Since I didn't find any fault in my performance, I shifted to the 'intermediate' moves. That's where I found some slip-ups.
One, two and swish. Great. That didn't work out. I repositioned myself again to repeat the move until I perfected it. My limbs have become quite stiff in three months. It's as if rust grew on them. Well, they need a little bit of oiling, and the only way I could 'oil' them is if I practice again. I began to wonder if Kenshin actually felt like this when he started fighting again after 10 years. It's sure a longer time than 3 months. If I could just move my feet a little forward, relax my hold a bit and straighten up more...
One, two and swish. Bingo! That did it. I then stopped, wiping off a little of my perspiration as my audience began clapping heartily.
"Good job cuz!" Chiharu grinned.
"Very amusing," Dave smiled.
Amusing? I don't think that's the proper word.
"Perhaps you'd like to spar with me one day."
That certainly wasn't Dave.
We all turned to find Phillip leaning against the entrance.
"I couldn't help watching," he said in his calm, cool demeanor. "That was something miss. Perhaps you'd like to spar with me."
"Yes," I replied. "Perhaps I would."
My speech was getting more classiqué by the minute. Chiharu would be proud.
Phillip just smiled and left.
How he does remind me of Aoshi and Saitoh!
"Ladies, your quarters," Dave said as he pushed the mahogany door open. Two single four-poster beds with silk curtains were on the opposite sides, positioned strategically that they faced each other. There was a little night table beside each bed on which a lampshade stood. The windows, which were parallel to the door had a baroque touch to them, as Dave was kind enough to explain. There were paintings of ladies picking fruit or walking under umbrellas, all so beautiful and elegant. They were the traditional type of ladies.
"May you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," Chiharu and I said in unison.
"I guess I should leave the two of you so you could unpack." And with that, he closed the door behind him and left.
It only took a few hours for me to unpack since I didn't have the bulk Chiharu had. Pretty soon I was already sitting on my bed( the one on the right side) waiting for Chiharu to finish. I had volunteered to help her but she wouldn't let me, insisting she could do it on her own. So before I could get to sleep out of sheer boredom, I stood up and headed for the door.
"I'm going for a walk Chiharu," I said, and closed the door behind me.
Like I said before, the manor was huge. There were lots of nooks and crannies yet to be discovered, and I was eager to do so. The hallway I was in was long. Our room was right in the middle of it, and quite some distance from the staircase. Since I was going to explore, there were two choices I had. One was to go right, and the other was to go left. I kinda got tired of going right all the time, so I went left instead. There were lots of rooms still, and I heard Aunt Mikako scolding Uncle John behind one of those doors. Something about a porcelain dish... Anyway, I moved on. There was a window at the end of the hallway, and a fork. This time, I turned right, and then found myself face to face again with another window. There was a smaller hallway to the right though, so I walked through, curious. I fancied it were an art gallery for there was nothing in there but portraits and paintings of people. Some of those people, I realized, were the Whitmans. I saw Mr. Whitman and his wife, and then solo portraits of the children. But there was one portrait that I didn't recognize, which was together with that of Phillip and Dave's. It was a portrait of a pretty young lady, probably my age, wearing a blue silk gown.
"Fancy seeing you here."
I whirled around and found Phillip a few feet from me, standing.
"Creep," I murmured under my breath. Then, raising my voice, I said, "I was just looking at the paintings."
"Do you like that one?" he asked.
"Well... She's beautiful," I replied, looking once more at the painting. "Who is she?"
"You might want to take a closer look." I looked at him confused, but obeyed him anyway. I found then below the painting a gold plate inscribed with the name 'Viola Ann Whitman'.
"Viola Ann Whitman," I repeated. I then turned to him and said, "A relative of yours?"
"My sister," Phillip replied simply.
"Sister?" I repeated disbelievingly. "So you have a sister..."
"Had, actually. She died ten years ago."
"I'm sorry... But how did she..." I couldn't go on.
"How did she die?" Phillip finished for me. I nodded.
"Out of grief. After mourning her fiancé for a year, she died. Did you know that Via and I grew up in Japan?"
"Via?"
"What we called Viola," Phillip explained. "She didn't like us calling her Viola. Such a free-spirited creature she was."
There was a pregnant pause before he continued.
"Dad, before, was just an employee who was transferred to Japan. I was six, Via was four, and Dave wasn't born yet. Mother was just pregnant with him back then. We settled in Aizu and had our education there. At seven I knew how to speak Japanese fluently. But back then I didn't have much friends. Via though, was quick to make friends with the children. But when I turned eight, I met a boy who would become my best friend until we grew up."
Personally I didn't see where he was getting to, but I listened anyway and tried to make it seem I was interested.
"What was his name?"
"Hasegawa Satoshi. We met at school and became friends. After I made friends with him, it was easier to make friends with the other kids since Satoshi was well respected in our class. Pretty soon, I had a circle of friends around me, thanks to him. He invited me to his house, and I invited him to my own. We went out on afternoons to play, and slept at each other's homes at times. My parents welcomed him, and his parents welcomed me. And in a short time, we became best buds.
"Dave was born in Japan. The year of his birth, Dad's business began to prosper, and we were becoming richer. Pretty soon, he was already an independent man, self-employed. He then began to open his own company when he met your uncle.
"Satoshi had a fascination for martial arts, and when we were ten, he enrolled in kenjutsu. He was very skilled, and his master often praised him for it. He motivated me too to enroll, and so I did. But he was better than I was, no doubt about that. So when time came and I had to go to college at Cambridge, I wasn't at all reluctant to leave the dojo and stop training. I learned fencing there, and mastered it. You could say I was more interested in it than kenjutsu. Mother came here and stayed with me all the time I was in college. I frequently wrote letters to Satoshi, and he wrote back. But a time came when the letters became irregular. According to mother, the war had broken out.
"Via and Dave were left at Aizu. Unbeknownst me, Via had a relationship with Satoshi. They were both in love with each other. Dad knew about this though, and he consented. It was after they had been going steady for 6 months that they bothered to tell me. I didn't have much complaint about it since I loved Satoshi like my brother. I knew he would take care of Via..."
Interesting. A romance. Hmm...
"Satoshi's skills grew and he became more powerful. Via adored him even more because of that. She too had been fascinated with the martial arts when she was younger, but mother never allowed her to do so."
I looked at Via's portrait and stared at her.
"A young lady as beautiful as her would want to take martial arts?" I asked, bewildered.
"Well, certain young ladies would. Perhaps something went wrong in their genetic composition," Phillip replied.
He had meant that last statement as a joke, but it wasn't at all funny. He was probably referring not only to his sister but to me too.
"And then what happened?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, like I said, Satoshi grew more powerful, that he joined the Shinsengumi."
"He what?"
"Joined the Shinsengumi," Phillip repeated.
I felt a sickening lurch in my stomach. The Shinsengumi? I can somehow sense what's going to happen.
"He didn't tell anyone, not even me or Via. He kept it secret. He was appointed assistant captain of one of the squadrons, quite a befitting position for him. At day he and my sister would walk around the town square happily as young lovers would, but at night, he would be with the Shinsengumi, killing people. He was an assassin... If I had known this, I would've ended their relationship right away. She might've gotten involved."
"Did she?" I asked, becoming more interested by the minute.
"Fortunately, no. But... Satoshi... one night... They had a mission at Kyoto, and they were fighting with the Ishinshishi. Satoshi, being all noble that he was, decided to stay and let their captain escape. They were by the river, fighting, when he was killed. His body was then seen the next day, floating in the river."
"Oh god..." I breathed. I suddenly felt sorry for him. "What happened to your sister?"
"Grief-stricken when she heard the news. She wouldn't eat or leave bed for weeks. I was going back for vacation back then with Mother. When we arrived, it was all a shock for me. The sudden news that my best friend and sister's fiancé was dead hit me hard. I felt like I had lost a piece of me... It was hard to accept the fact that he was gone, but even harder for me was to learn that he had been an assassin.
"I almost didn't attend his cremation because of that. It was Dave who persuaded me to go, reminding me that he is still a friend of mine even if he's dead, telling me it's the last respect I could give him... Really, that Dave. So noble. He idolized Satoshi of course, as Via did. At his cremation, my sister cried torrents. It was a pitiful sight...
"She died a year after. She would rarely eat and she just kept herself inside her room. She became very pale and sickly..."
"But... do you know exactly who killed... Satoshi?" I asked.
Phillip remained silent for a few minutes before he spoke, "I want you to keep everything that we have talked about a secret. No one else must know. Could I trust you to do so?" I nodded.
"Then, the one who killed Satoshi was… the Hitokiri Battousai."
To be continued…
by: Venusskies
email: venus_skies@excite.com
Standard disclaimers apply.
Author's Notes:
I didn't do much editing in this chapter, but I changed the ending. If you've read this before, then you could just jump to the ending right away. (
Chapter 5: Discovery
I looked up blankly at the huge manor that lay before me. I had never seen anything quite like it back at home. Stone walls, marble floors, exquisite tapestries, antiques, crystalline chandeliers and red carpets, I never knew, had so much effect on me. That was inside. The outside... Mazes of greenery, such immaculate daisies, roses and tulips in an array of colors, just like rainbows! And the fountains, statues of marble 'spitting' water. I have never been to a garden as beautiful as this one. Truly, the Western touch is something to behold.
Chiharu held my hand as Dave toured us inside his home, explaining everything on the things we asked about, even the background history. Stuff such as 'baroque period' or 'late renaissance' came from his mouth, stuff which I didn't have the least inkling of. I could tell that he was very proud of the manor from the way he talked, and, who wouldn't be? I never knew his father's business would make them filthy rich... Hmm. Perhaps I should consider changing my career... But then something in their house reminded me of something I have neglected in the three months I have been frolicking.
Dave led us to one of Phillip's favorite places in the manor, the "Fencing Hall". It looked more like an artillery room to me though. The floor was made of wood, unlike most parts of the manor. A line of cannons and guns were displayed on the front. There were huge portraits of army men in their uniforms, proudly wearing their medals and shields hanging on the left side, while a row of blades was on the right. I saw the familiar katana and Japanese sword among them, and the faithful bokken I use in everyday training. Training? Oh god. I have completely forgotten my training! I must've forgotten a few of my moves, or maybe I just couldn't perform them that well. Unwittingly I walked towards the bokken, ignoring the company I had.
"Kaoru-san," Dave had began, but Chiharu interrupted him.
"Kaoru-chan practices kenjutsu back at Japan. She's the assistant master at her family's dojo. I guess she misses her training," Chiharu said. David just nodded in recognition.
I was about to hold the bokken when I remembered that I hadn't asked for permission. I guess I was so used to home, where I could just take anything I wanted without asking permission. I looked back at Dave, my eyes asking a silent question. He seemed to understand since he nodded in reply.
"I'd like to see your kenjutsu," he said.
I smiled at him and took the bokken.
"Go on Kaoru-chan," Chiharu urged. "Show him what you're made of."
My smile widened, a slight blush tingeing my cheeks. Then I walked to the center of the room.
"I guess I could move in this," I said aloud, twirling around to see if my skirt would flutter like a balloon. It did, and satisfied, I positioned myself to begin.
Silently I performed the most basic moves of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, starting off with ten swings. My audience was applauding me politely, and Dave seemed very amused that a woman could hold a sword. Since I didn't find any fault in my performance, I shifted to the 'intermediate' moves. That's where I found some slip-ups.
One, two and swish. Great. That didn't work out. I repositioned myself again to repeat the move until I perfected it. My limbs have become quite stiff in three months. It's as if rust grew on them. Well, they need a little bit of oiling, and the only way I could 'oil' them is if I practice again. I began to wonder if Kenshin actually felt like this when he started fighting again after 10 years. It's sure a longer time than 3 months. If I could just move my feet a little forward, relax my hold a bit and straighten up more...
One, two and swish. Bingo! That did it. I then stopped, wiping off a little of my perspiration as my audience began clapping heartily.
"Good job cuz!" Chiharu grinned.
"Very amusing," Dave smiled.
Amusing? I don't think that's the proper word.
"Perhaps you'd like to spar with me one day."
That certainly wasn't Dave.
We all turned to find Phillip leaning against the entrance.
"I couldn't help watching," he said in his calm, cool demeanor. "That was something miss. Perhaps you'd like to spar with me."
"Yes," I replied. "Perhaps I would."
My speech was getting more classiqué by the minute. Chiharu would be proud.
Phillip just smiled and left.
How he does remind me of Aoshi and Saitoh!
"Ladies, your quarters," Dave said as he pushed the mahogany door open. Two single four-poster beds with silk curtains were on the opposite sides, positioned strategically that they faced each other. There was a little night table beside each bed on which a lampshade stood. The windows, which were parallel to the door had a baroque touch to them, as Dave was kind enough to explain. There were paintings of ladies picking fruit or walking under umbrellas, all so beautiful and elegant. They were the traditional type of ladies.
"May you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," Chiharu and I said in unison.
"I guess I should leave the two of you so you could unpack." And with that, he closed the door behind him and left.
It only took a few hours for me to unpack since I didn't have the bulk Chiharu had. Pretty soon I was already sitting on my bed( the one on the right side) waiting for Chiharu to finish. I had volunteered to help her but she wouldn't let me, insisting she could do it on her own. So before I could get to sleep out of sheer boredom, I stood up and headed for the door.
"I'm going for a walk Chiharu," I said, and closed the door behind me.
Like I said before, the manor was huge. There were lots of nooks and crannies yet to be discovered, and I was eager to do so. The hallway I was in was long. Our room was right in the middle of it, and quite some distance from the staircase. Since I was going to explore, there were two choices I had. One was to go right, and the other was to go left. I kinda got tired of going right all the time, so I went left instead. There were lots of rooms still, and I heard Aunt Mikako scolding Uncle John behind one of those doors. Something about a porcelain dish... Anyway, I moved on. There was a window at the end of the hallway, and a fork. This time, I turned right, and then found myself face to face again with another window. There was a smaller hallway to the right though, so I walked through, curious. I fancied it were an art gallery for there was nothing in there but portraits and paintings of people. Some of those people, I realized, were the Whitmans. I saw Mr. Whitman and his wife, and then solo portraits of the children. But there was one portrait that I didn't recognize, which was together with that of Phillip and Dave's. It was a portrait of a pretty young lady, probably my age, wearing a blue silk gown.
"Fancy seeing you here."
I whirled around and found Phillip a few feet from me, standing.
"Creep," I murmured under my breath. Then, raising my voice, I said, "I was just looking at the paintings."
"Do you like that one?" he asked.
"Well... She's beautiful," I replied, looking once more at the painting. "Who is she?"
"You might want to take a closer look." I looked at him confused, but obeyed him anyway. I found then below the painting a gold plate inscribed with the name 'Viola Ann Whitman'.
"Viola Ann Whitman," I repeated. I then turned to him and said, "A relative of yours?"
"My sister," Phillip replied simply.
"Sister?" I repeated disbelievingly. "So you have a sister..."
"Had, actually. She died ten years ago."
"I'm sorry... But how did she..." I couldn't go on.
"How did she die?" Phillip finished for me. I nodded.
"Out of grief. After mourning her fiancé for a year, she died. Did you know that Via and I grew up in Japan?"
"Via?"
"What we called Viola," Phillip explained. "She didn't like us calling her Viola. Such a free-spirited creature she was."
There was a pregnant pause before he continued.
"Dad, before, was just an employee who was transferred to Japan. I was six, Via was four, and Dave wasn't born yet. Mother was just pregnant with him back then. We settled in Aizu and had our education there. At seven I knew how to speak Japanese fluently. But back then I didn't have much friends. Via though, was quick to make friends with the children. But when I turned eight, I met a boy who would become my best friend until we grew up."
Personally I didn't see where he was getting to, but I listened anyway and tried to make it seem I was interested.
"What was his name?"
"Hasegawa Satoshi. We met at school and became friends. After I made friends with him, it was easier to make friends with the other kids since Satoshi was well respected in our class. Pretty soon, I had a circle of friends around me, thanks to him. He invited me to his house, and I invited him to my own. We went out on afternoons to play, and slept at each other's homes at times. My parents welcomed him, and his parents welcomed me. And in a short time, we became best buds.
"Dave was born in Japan. The year of his birth, Dad's business began to prosper, and we were becoming richer. Pretty soon, he was already an independent man, self-employed. He then began to open his own company when he met your uncle.
"Satoshi had a fascination for martial arts, and when we were ten, he enrolled in kenjutsu. He was very skilled, and his master often praised him for it. He motivated me too to enroll, and so I did. But he was better than I was, no doubt about that. So when time came and I had to go to college at Cambridge, I wasn't at all reluctant to leave the dojo and stop training. I learned fencing there, and mastered it. You could say I was more interested in it than kenjutsu. Mother came here and stayed with me all the time I was in college. I frequently wrote letters to Satoshi, and he wrote back. But a time came when the letters became irregular. According to mother, the war had broken out.
"Via and Dave were left at Aizu. Unbeknownst me, Via had a relationship with Satoshi. They were both in love with each other. Dad knew about this though, and he consented. It was after they had been going steady for 6 months that they bothered to tell me. I didn't have much complaint about it since I loved Satoshi like my brother. I knew he would take care of Via..."
Interesting. A romance. Hmm...
"Satoshi's skills grew and he became more powerful. Via adored him even more because of that. She too had been fascinated with the martial arts when she was younger, but mother never allowed her to do so."
I looked at Via's portrait and stared at her.
"A young lady as beautiful as her would want to take martial arts?" I asked, bewildered.
"Well, certain young ladies would. Perhaps something went wrong in their genetic composition," Phillip replied.
He had meant that last statement as a joke, but it wasn't at all funny. He was probably referring not only to his sister but to me too.
"And then what happened?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, like I said, Satoshi grew more powerful, that he joined the Shinsengumi."
"He what?"
"Joined the Shinsengumi," Phillip repeated.
I felt a sickening lurch in my stomach. The Shinsengumi? I can somehow sense what's going to happen.
"He didn't tell anyone, not even me or Via. He kept it secret. He was appointed assistant captain of one of the squadrons, quite a befitting position for him. At day he and my sister would walk around the town square happily as young lovers would, but at night, he would be with the Shinsengumi, killing people. He was an assassin... If I had known this, I would've ended their relationship right away. She might've gotten involved."
"Did she?" I asked, becoming more interested by the minute.
"Fortunately, no. But... Satoshi... one night... They had a mission at Kyoto, and they were fighting with the Ishinshishi. Satoshi, being all noble that he was, decided to stay and let their captain escape. They were by the river, fighting, when he was killed. His body was then seen the next day, floating in the river."
"Oh god..." I breathed. I suddenly felt sorry for him. "What happened to your sister?"
"Grief-stricken when she heard the news. She wouldn't eat or leave bed for weeks. I was going back for vacation back then with Mother. When we arrived, it was all a shock for me. The sudden news that my best friend and sister's fiancé was dead hit me hard. I felt like I had lost a piece of me... It was hard to accept the fact that he was gone, but even harder for me was to learn that he had been an assassin.
"I almost didn't attend his cremation because of that. It was Dave who persuaded me to go, reminding me that he is still a friend of mine even if he's dead, telling me it's the last respect I could give him... Really, that Dave. So noble. He idolized Satoshi of course, as Via did. At his cremation, my sister cried torrents. It was a pitiful sight...
"She died a year after. She would rarely eat and she just kept herself inside her room. She became very pale and sickly..."
"But... do you know exactly who killed... Satoshi?" I asked.
Phillip remained silent for a few minutes before he spoke, "I want you to keep everything that we have talked about a secret. No one else must know. Could I trust you to do so?" I nodded.
"Then, the one who killed Satoshi was… the Hitokiri Battousai."
To be continued…