(Disclaimers: Nobuhiro Watsuki is the man, see Chapter 1 disclaimer for details)
5/4/02
5/13/02 – revised
Chapter 6
Alpha-Male: Marked Territory
Kyoto; Border of Gion and Fushimi Districts; Ohoshi Pottery
Tokio woke up tired, and feeling more bruised than when she laid down. With her eyes closed she lay there listening as the heavy rain beat a wet tempo upon the roof. The emptiness inside her seemed to be echoed by the hollow plops landing in the puddles outside. Her life would be different now. In the gap of a single night she had lost so much. Hajime's chiseled face appeared in detail on the back of her closed eyelids. Even in practical matters things would not be the same. She would have neither a husband's nor a father's name to lend her consequence and protection in everyday affairs.
Getting up, she took care to dress slowly. Her side was black and blue from where her father had kicked her ribs, and it ached when she moved. The ground outside would be muddy; she tied her kimono so that it fell just below her calf. Raising her arms above her head was painful and it took real effort to get her hair up in a high ponytail. She would have left it down but she needed it out of the way. Briefly she thought about asking Nana for help but knew that the older woman would be busy and she'd already caused enough of a fuss for one day. As it was, Nana didn't let her make it out of the house without re-applying salve to her face and forcing her to eat some miso soup.
Outside the rain had let up a little. At least it wasn't coming down in sheets for the moment. Slipping on a pair of geta she made her way across the soaked ground of the small compound to a long low structure. Stepping up into a dusky room she saw Yuuki working beneath the window at his glazing bench mixing the subtly beautiful colors he would use to adorn his pottery works. Further down the room was a table surrounded by four women. They sat on benches made of split wood logs and covered with cotton cushions. Small squat oil lamps sat in front of each and as they slowly worked a small bellows with their feet, the slight steady air passed thru a tube to exit just beneath the lamp flame causing it to burn much hotter. All of them were intent on melting glass onto slender kiln washed rods and rotating them into wound glass beads.
Nearby were three children, two girls and a boy, who were avidly pointing into a big box on the floor and then to each other. A lively conversation was going on between them.
"They just are, that's why," said the boy in exasperation. He was looking a little harried, as if whatever he was trying to explain to the girls should be self-evident and the girls were just thick as trees not to see it.
"No they're not," contended the girl on the other side of the box from him. "You're just saying that because you're a dumb boy!"
"Shiori," came a clear warning voice from one of the older women at the table, "do not call your brother dumb."
"Yes, mother," the little girl said quickly, but Tokio could see that she was giving the boy a look that said quite plainly that this discussion was far from over.
The second girl kneeling between them, Miki, was six and younger than the twins by a year. Shiori was her best friend, but she idolized the boy, so she was forever trying to be the peace maker. "Takuya, couldn't they be equal?" The little girl didn't want to alienate her friend but she didn't want to earn Takuya's scorn either.
At that moment the woman that did the speaking looked up and noticed Tokio standing there. "Tokio!" The other women looked up too, and she heard her name repeated excitedly by everyone in recognition. The women didn't make any comment at all about her condition and she knew that Yuuki, or more probably Nana, had said something ahead of time. Even the children smiled and pretended not to see her damaged flesh.
"Please, don't let me interrupt your work. I'll just take a look at your finished pieces if you don't mind, but first I would like to see what is so interesting in this box." She peeked over the side and saw what at first looked like a large pile of black and white fur, then as she looked on, one section of the mass stretched outward and she saw minute white-pink claws spread with a tremble and then retract. A small mouth stretched wide in a yawn, briefly displaying needle sharp teeth and an impossibly tiny pink tongue, which in turn licked a dark charcoal nose. The furry little body twisted over somehow with a heavy sigh and all Tokio could see was the bottom of pink little paw pads covering a whiskered face. The kittens looked just about old enough to wean, and evidently the children were taking advantage of their collective sleep bundle to get a better look.
She looked at the children, "Now then, what could cause an argument over kittens?"
The boy looked just a bit uncomfortable now. Shiori fixed him with a, 'boy-are-you-gonna-hear-it-now' look. "Takuya says that boy kittens are better than girl kittens," Shiori scoffed.
"Hmmm, is that so, Takuya?" Tokio gave him a thoughtful look.
"Well…, I guess so," he squirmed, looking even more uncomfortable, "Boy cats can go anywhere but girl cats have to stay home and take care of the babies." There, he said it and he was looking a bit surer about his position.
"This is very true," Tokio agreed. Shiori was starting to look a bit wounded by this female defection and Tokio gave them all a lopsided grin, "but it is also true that the mama-cat is a better hunter in order to feed her babies and her mate. Without her they'd all go hungry."
Shiori squinted up her face and cast Takuya a 'told-you-so look'.
"Isn't that the truth." Yuuki chuckled from the pottery side of the workshop. He'd once said that if Nana died he would be right behind her, because if a broken heart didn't finish him off his own cooking would.
Cognizant of Takuya's masculine pride Tokio continued, "But without both mama and papa cats there can be no kittens." She was careful not to offend Takuya's sensibilities, surrounded by the female point of view from all sides tended to make him a bit touchy sometimes. "I think that Miki is closest to the truth." Stroking the little girl's fine hair, "It's always wise to question anything that appears out of balance." Both Shiori and Takuya seemed to except this middle ground of Miki's. Turning her attention back to the table, "Now why don't you show me what your mamas have been working on."
Miki, glad to have an excuse to end this confrontation, grabbed Tokio's hand and eagerly led her to the wall separating the work room from the sleeping quarters, the age old dilemma of man versus woman was forgotten for the moment. The wall shelves held several shallow trays full of cooling beads. When these could be safely removed from the mandrels and cleaned they'd be placed in a kiln and slowly heated up and then let heat soak all night until they slowly returned to room temperature by next morning, strengthened by the process. She examined several already cool enough to handle. The children were anxious to show her their favorites and she appropriately oooh'd and ahhh'd over each critical selection. Very nice, very fine, the women were creating even more exquisite work as time went on. These would fetch a high price in Edo.
The work of each artist was distinctly recognizable, at least to her eye, by their style and use of color. Haruka, the mother of the twins, preferred blues and greens and her pieces always made one think of the swirling ocean or of pine boughs, much like her own calm personality. Mai leaned toward sharp simple contrasts, returning often to black, white, and red, and her pieces were prized by men. Yuka, Miki's mother, liked delicate transparent glass with simple but feminine decorations; she often worked with the most expensive pinks which received color from the gold in the soda lime mix.
It was the younger Kana, however, that she thought would make the best bead artist. The girl took great care in mixing her subtle palette of glass, and her work flowed like the most beautiful haiku, simple and expressive. It had you returning again and again to find new depth, not unlike the beauty of the girl herself. Tokio knew this was a much needed outlet for her noble training. It was Kana's work that Tokio had fashioned into a stunning matched set of Buddhist prayer beads. She wanted to test the market for finished art pieces, especially ones that had beads made custom for that purpose.
"Well, I showed up just in time. It looks like you're almost ready to put everything in the kiln."
There was a startled gasp out of Kana, her dark eyes went wide in dismay.
"Kana," whined Mai, "You didn't forget again? You did, didn't you!"
"Kana dear," said Haruka with a mother's soft but tried patience, much in the same tone of voice she would use with the twin's transgressions, "it was your turn."
"I know, I'm so sorry," Kana piped, "I…I meant to…"
Tokio squeezed the pretty girl's shoulder. Like many true artists, Kana often thought about her art all day long. When she wasn't working in the flame she was dreaming up new creations in her head, and consequently this left very little time for remembering other more practical tasks. Tokio took pity on her. "Why don't I go ready the kiln and you can all take your time to finish and clean up your pieces." Kana flashed her a grateful smile. Young and very beautiful, Tokio felt a stab of sorrow that the girl had been denied her rightful place in society.
Quickly putting on her quilted haori and straw hat again, Tokio went back outside. After donning her geta she walked over to a small structure built separate for safety against fire. This was the kiln house. As she reached the door she heard a disturbance from behind, from the covered woodpile. "Nana, is that you?" Nothing. Cautiously she made her way back toward the woodpile. Something was back there. "Hello," she called. Nothing. Just as she was getting to the corner something leaped out at her! "Oh!" she gave a little scream. The large black and white cat at her feet also looked alarmed, wet, and highly agitated. "Mama-kitty," she breathed a heavy sigh of relief, "you scared me."
She bent down to pick up the cat and just caught a large swift shadow out of the corner of her eye on the far side of the woodpile. "Tokio," called Yuuki from behind her.
Tokio turned, "What," she said distractedly and with some relief at seeing someone more substantial than the cat. "Yuuki, I thought I saw someone, something behind the wood pile."
Yuuki motioned for her to stay put and cautiously made his way around the woodpile. He came back with arms outstretched, "There's nothing there."
Shaking her head, she had been so sure that something was there. Last night had upset her and now she was just being jumpy. No one even knew where she was.
"I'm sorry Yuuki, just my imagination I guess."
"You probably didn't get enough sleep," he berated her gently.
She smiled, lopsided; she was getting use to it. "You're probably right."
They both went into the kiln house and loaded up the firebox with a bank of coals and then firewood. Once that was going, she secured the kiln door and the two of them went back to the work room. They heard childish squeals of delight as they walked in. The kittens were awake, rambunctious, and out of their box. The children were having a grand time getting them to race after first one improvised toy and then another.
The women worked only half a day at the flame, the other half was spent doing chores and helping Yuuki and Nana in exchange for rent. With the last sale to her father the business had just seen its first profit, if you could call it that. The children's tuition still needed to be paid for, the monks at the Tofukuji Temple had agreed to wait for awhile and now that she had the funds she would have to see that they received compensation.
Kana broke into her thoughts, holding up the bead trays, "They're all ready to go."
Tokio reached for them but Kana spun away, "Oh no you don't," she said playfully. "You did enough, this is my responsibility and I'll load up the kiln."
Tokio, seeing the firm look on the girl's face and being ever practical, said, "Take my haori and hat and try not to get too wet."
Kana hurriedly put them on and then shuffled outside, one of the kittens chasing her feet. Tokio smiled and shook her head.
The merchant girl spent the next hour discussing with Yuuki her ideas for incorporating bead decoration in some of his pottery works, ideas for highlighting a single bead or art pieces with more than one bead. At first he was reluctant to collaborate, protective of his work, but the more ideas she threw out the more ideas he thought of himself until he was pushing her out of the work room so he could jump on his pottery wheel and make a couple of trial vessels.
Slipping on her geta she started walking back to the main house thinking she would gather up her things and move them to the women's sleeping quarters. She wondered if she could interest the old woman up the street who wove kumihimo cords if she would be interested in collaborating too. Maybe she should try to relax a bit. If it wasn't working on the business aspect of the project it was working on the human side. Meditating on it for awhile might help, her thoughts were cluttered.
Her mind still in a whirl, at some point she noted the gate bell ringing, distantly, and then it slammed into the foreground of her brain. Nana was letting in mounted guards, Shinsengumi guards, Hajime!
Running toward the main house she could hear Hajime calling her to stop, she gained the engawa, and he was not far behind her. Tearing into the room with her belongings she seized the small umabari blade on the table and aimed it for her throat, "Amaterasu, lend me strength!" She thrust, and cried out in pain!
Hajime had reached overhead and grabbed her wrist in a punishing grip and twisted until she was forced to let go, and the blade fell harmlessly to the tatami with a dull thud. "NO!" her head dropped to her heaving chest.
He whipped her around, anger causing his severe features to stand out even more sharply, then he caught first glimpse of her beaten face.
"No!" she said more softly, clawing at her ponytail with her free hand, ripping out the hair-ribbon and taking strands of hair in her haste, "don't look at me." Quickly turning her head away she covered her face with her hair. She didn't want him to see proof of her shame; she didn't want to see the look of revolt in his eyes.
Neither registered how long they stood there. It seemed like forever. He still had a hold of her wrist, albeit not so tightly now. "Tokio," he said plainly. She shook her head, what portion of her long black hair she didn't have covering her face set swaying around her. Not letting go of her hand, he dropped to his knees, "Tokio," and slowly brought his forehead to rest on the ground in front of her feet. "Forgive me, I beg you," his voice strangely calm.
Eyes downcast to the ground, she had no choice but to see him abasing himself before her on the floor, begging her. "Hajime, no!" She was in shock that he would do such a thing. He was of a noble class, she wasn't. He had honor, she had willingly forsaken hers. Standing before him she dropped to her knees, still keeping the damaged side of her face away from him, "please, don't do this."
Cupping her face, his own indecipherable, amber eyes softened. Running a strong slender hand slowly over her battered features but not quite touching, as if she was too delicate to touch, he studied her, lips parted now in a pained expression, the slash of his fine black brows drawn down in concentration. His thumb grazed over her lips, the touch so light she wondered if she had simply imagined the feeling. He traced his forefinger over the undamaged side of her mouth, reading just precisely where the bruises started. Bending gradually, as if to give her plenty of time to protest, he brought his lips to rest gently against the corner of her mouth.
He finally pulled back, not taking his eyes from her, and she looked up into his face and then shyly back to the ground, "My first kiss," her voice filled with quiet, sad irony.
Saying nothing he gathered her to him, wanting to feel her next to him. Stiffening within his arms she let out a small cry of pain. "Tokio?" he said in sudden concern. She shook her head, trying to indicate that it was nothing, but she was clearly taking shallow breaths. Sure but gentle hands ran over her back and around her sides until she flinched again, a fraction of the first reaction but enough. He knew then, saw it in his mind, he knew that miserable excuse for a human being had kicked her or beat her like a dog! He dared! Leaning over he folded her into his embrace, careful not to cause her pain, and held her, but the wolf's eyes narrowed.
The feeling of his slight tremble, his suppressed rage, she didn't know what to make of it, but after a while he looked at her again and his inscrutable mask was back in place, only this time his narrow eyes were merely glittering shards of gold. She never knew that the color gold could look so utterly frozen.
"We're leaving now. Take what you need for tonight and I'll have the rest sent to you by morning."
"Hajime, where are we going?"
"Eventually to headquarters. I know it will be safe for you there."
"Hajime, I can't. The commander will ask me questions about last night and I don't know how I should answer them, and those men…the other guards, they were all there last night," her voice drifted off softer and slower as she finished that statement.
"Tokio, do you remember when I said I'd never lie to you?"
"Yes." She knew he never would.
"My life is not in danger. Yours is. Now pay particularly close attention to what I'm about to say." Seeing that he had her complete attention, "You have nothing to be ashamed of," and he cupped her face and starred straight into her soul for emphasis, "Nothing. Your… modesty… is protected by Hijikata, Harada, and myself. That's all, I swear it. As to the rest who may have been present when you arrived last night, they are ready to worship the ground at your feet, and any of them would give a great deal to find a woman who would defend them with as much passion." He held her face gently between his hands, "Do you understand, Tokio?" She nodded, and he kissed her again.
"I've done a poor job of protecting you and my only comfort is knowing that no one else could have done better." She smiled into his chest, he was so proud. Whispering into her ear, "and I couldn't give you up even if they could."
Guiding her to her feet, "Let's go before Harada falls asleep, he was up all night looking for you," a small amount of frustration and chastisement flavored his words. Not wanting to head into what sounded like the opening of a scolding, she quickly gathered some items in to a cotton yukata and secured the bundle.
Walking outside she hugged Nana and Yuuki both and whispered her goodbyes, promising to see them again soon, and Hajime gathered up his horse's reins and he led it over to the engawa so that Tokio could be lifted in front of him. He was about to mount when Tokio looked down and saw the large black and white feline, crying and rubbing agitatedly about her legs. She bent down to pet the cat but the furry female was having none of it. Her tail twitched in quick snapping motions and she would take a few steps away and then come back and cry piteously. "What's wrong, mama-kitty?"
Questioning Yuuki and Nana with a look, Yuuki shrugged, but then Tokio felt cold. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong and her eyes naturally moved over to where she had last felt that "wrong" something, where she had seen the mama-cat. The kiln house, there was no smoke coming from the kiln house! Jumping off the engawa, the horse spooked at her sudden appearance on the ground in front of him. It was all Hajime could do to minimize the animal's startled sideways leap, "Tokio!"
Damn it! He dropped the reins and ran after her. Sanosuke took off after them both. Souji and Shinpachi gave each other a confused look, but then hearing Tokio's cry from across the compound, dismounted in a hurry.
She got to the kiln house at about the same time as Hajime and Sanosuke caught up with her. The door wouldn't open, "Kana!" she screamed, banging on the door, "Kana!"
Smoke was pouring out from beneath the door. "Hajime, help me!"
He pulled her back out of the way. "Harada," he said, "ready, go." They both slammed into the door. Wood split, and a heavy shifting sound reached her ears. The door cracked open, thick black smoke pouring around all sides of it now. "Again," snarled Hajime. "Ready, go!" They slammed into it again; there was a wrenching sound of wood and again the shifting of something heavy across the floor. The door opened maybe six inches.
"Something's still blocking the door." Harada reached in and felt around blindly, coughing strongly as he caught a face and lung full of smoke coming out of the door. "Got it." A second later he had removed the barrier and the door swung inward. Smoke rolled in huge solid black waves out the open door.
"Kana!" Tokio yelled and started for the door, before Hajime stopped her.
"No!" he growled.
Sanosuke took a two deep breaths and on the third he walked in, eyes closed. The temptation to open his eyes was almost overpowering. Only his strong will imposed rational thought on his heightened survival instincts, allowing him to keep them closed. They would be no good open, worse in fact. He wisely began feeling the ground with his feet taking agonizingly slow shuffling movements, all the while his mind tried to tell him he didn't know the way back out. After what seemed like forever he nudged something soft, and bending down his hand ran across the form at his feet. His brain registered two facts, breasts and long hair. He scooped her up, and unerringly walked straight back out the door.
Sanosuke had to promptly set her down and began choking himself, his eyes streaming water and inflamed red. Kana didn't move from where he had laid her down. "Kana," cried Tokio sadly.
Due to Tokio's cries almost everyone was standing around now, the children were huddled against their mothers. Haruka directed the twins to stand by Yuka, and she and Nana bent over the girl on the ground. Then Haruka did the strangest thing Tokio had ever seen. She put her lips to Kana's and blew. Then she pressed on her stomach. She blew into Kana's mouth again, and she pushed the air out again. She must have done this ten or fifteen times when Kana suddenly started to breath on her own and cough violently. Haruka stepped back and Sanosuke and Nana held Kana until she could breathe without sounding like she was going to be sick.
Sanosuke was the first to see the blood on the back of her head and he gingerly probed her scalp finding a lump the size of small duck egg. The girl turned to look at him and he froze. Kami! If this was what she looked like half dead he wondered what she would looked like after she was cleaned up. Extremely beautiful, Sanosuke thought, in a very natural way, and yet, he felt like he knew her. She was starring at him like she had seen a ghost. Recognition flooded her face and he was positive he knew her too. He would have bet anything on it. Bet? Betting? It was right there and yet he couldn't put his finger on it.
The girl jumped up and he took a hold of her wrist to stop her. "No," she said softly but firmly. He let his hand drop. What did he think he was doing? Just because he knew her didn't mean her could accost her. As soon as he had turned her loose she spun around and ran into a long low building on the other side of the compound from the main house, and he watched her go. His seal brown eyes hooded and hiding the hurt he felt at her reaction.
A light touch fell onto his shoulder and he looked up into Tokio's eyes, "Thank you for risking your life to save her. Kana…she'll want to thank you later too when she feels better."
"I seriously doubt that," said Sanosuke flatly. "Kana," he said softly, tasting the name and trying to find a match in memory.
Tokio said nothing. It wasn't her place to tell Sanosuke that just about any man made Kana afraid. Yuuki didn't but that was only because even Kana could see how much Yuuki was in love with his wife. He wasn't a threat, but a strong virile samurai? That was way to close to the life Kana was forced to lead. Unlike the other women, Kana never left the pottery compound. After the events of last night Tokio had a new understanding of what Kana had to endure every night. At the same time she couldn't let Sanosuke think they weren't grateful for his saving the girl. "You're a hero!"
"Too true!" Nana smiled at him. Haruka was beaming at him like the mother of a proud son.
Sanosuke looked a little embarrassed and scratched at his unruly hair, looking much worse than usual. "Eh, well after the last day I'd just as soon give up being a hero for a good nights sleep." He yawned wide. "You think you can keep out of trouble long enough for that?" he frowned at Tokio in mock severity. She nodded quickly.
Just then a large black and white streak ran into the kiln house, "Mama-cat!" Tokio looked shocked. A moment later the big cat came back out of the still smoking building carrying a large kitten in her mouth. Scooping up the kitten from the overburden mother cat, Tokio examined the smoky smelling fluff ball. The kitten coughed, wheezed, and sneezed but was otherwise just fine.
Now that the adrenalin had worn off Sanosuke was feeling completely wiped out. "Hey, serow! You ready to go yet?" He directed this to Hajime, who was over by the kiln house door and talking to Yuuki, Souji, and Shinpachi. They were all looking extremely serious.
Hajime came back to stand by Tokio and cast an eye about the compound, "Let's go."
Tokio said her goodbyes to everyone and waved until the gate was truly out of sight. An indulgent smile gathered at the corners of Hajime's mouth at this small but determine show of loyalty.
Sanosuke was not surprised or even dismayed that they didn't head straight home, as a matter of fact he would have been greatly disappointed if they had.
It took Tokio a moment more to realize that they were not headed toward Mibu but back toward the Fushimi District. She looked suddenly into Hajime's stone cold face. "I…I thought we were going to the guard headquarters?"
"We are eventually."
"We're going back to my parents home?" her voice small.
He said nothing.
"Please, there is my mother to consider."
"Actually, I am considering your mother, and you will be staying in a household full of men. There are other married women there but you are not married. Your mother will see to it that your name is protected."
Tokio raised her eyebrows at this. What was that saying, pointing at the moon is not the moon?
Kyoto: Fushimi district - Takagi residence and warehouses
The rain was merely a light mist now, and once inside the Takagi residence compound Hajime quickly dismounted. His face was completely expressionless.
Reina saw her daughter and shuffled outside to stand beside her. "Tokio!" Reina felt her prayers had been answered and she looked to Captain Saitou who was already walking toward the house. Of course she had known he would find her, he had left no doubt, but she was glad to see that her daughter didn't look any worse than when she left.
"Mother," Tokio began, "Captain Saitou would like you to come with us to Mibu… today."
Her mother registered this briefly but was looking back to where the Shinsengumi captain was entering the house. "Tokio, are you not coming in? We should not be rude to our guests," but then she noticed that besides Captain Saitou only one other man had dismounted. This one took up a position outside the house. "Tokio what is happening?"
"I'm not…exactly sure, but I think Captain Saitou would like to speak with father," Her voice conveying what her words didn't.
They both heard a loud crash and a man's pained bellow, and again, this time with more fear. Reina unconsciously turned to go into the house but the man who had dismounted stepped in front of her. His face was smooth and unreadable.
Inside, Hajime had Kojuurou by the thumbs behind his back in one hand and a fist full of the heavier man's hair in the other, blood ran in rivulets from the man's nose and mouth, "Takagi," he said softly, almost conversationally, "I understand. I do. I understand what it's like to be filled with rage and have no outlet." The samurai began dragging the merchant's struggling form across the room, "You really needed a son, someone who could fight back eventually, and someone whose resistance would match your rage." He brought the big man down next to the large porcelain hibachi in the room. "Fortunately for you one is marrying into your family, a samurai son. That's what you wanted isn't it, a strong warrior son to accommodate your need to fight. I can do that for you," he snarled.
"NO! I'll give you anything!" Kojuurou was beyond afraid of this crazy warrior.
Hajime shook his head, sending his ponytail swinging, "You already did but now we have a problem. You don't seem to be able to keep your violent hands off what is mine, so I'm going to leave you with a little reminder."
Kojuurou went wild in an effort to avoid Hajime's punishment but he was too securely held. Hajime twisted the merchant's fingers and also applied brute force to bear Kojuurou's face down into the hot coals of the hibachi, his own fist plunged into the embers as he held the screaming man there. Hajime didn't make a sound. The acrid scent of burning flesh and hair filled the room.
Hajime finally let the man up. Kojuurou whimpered and moaned loudly against the pain of his charred cheek. "Now that I have your attention," whispered the warrior, "if you ever dare touch Tokio again I will drag you into the forest and use my blade to whittle away at your body for days and feed the animals as you watch, if you raise a hand to her mother I will see to it that she doesn't have to worry about it twice, and if you think you need someone to vent with just send word and I'll be glad to oblige. Do you understand?" he finished this last on a low growl, his eyes glittered a yellow menace.
Kojuurou briefly registered the cold, dead, yellow eyes and bared teeth as he nodded his acceptance of these non-negotiable terms. Hajime hauled him over to the edge of the engawa, the women looked on in shock. The samurai gestured to the other guards present in the courtyard. "You drive a hard bargain, Takagi," he said with contempt, "and should you think to go back on our little deal here, if something should happen to me these men will carry out my justice for me!" He let Kojuurou see their nodded agreement, made sure that he understood that Tokio's safety was not contingent on his life alone, then he shoved Kojuurou back into the house and let his bloated body drop onto the tatami with a heavy thud.
Hajime stood over him. "I'll help you get started. Tokio's mother will join her in Mibu until the wedding. You have until then to practice your new pacifism." The man on the floor heard him he was sure, although he was unmoving.
Outside, Tokio's eyes were wide and her mother's were even more so. Hajime turned to Shinpachi, "Would you mind staying until the woman is ready to proceed to Mibu? I don't want to stay in one place too long. I want Tokio at headquarters."
"It would be my pleasure," said Shinpachi, whose high rounded eyebrows always made him look like he was in a constant state of surprise, however expected the situation.
Hajime remounted and the three horses wheeled about and went out the gates. During the ride Tokio brought forth some facial paper from within her kimono. Laying it gently against his burned hand she felt him flinch ever so slightly. Taking her hair ribbon and wrapping that around outside of the paper, she tucked the fabric into itself. At least it would stay clean until they reached Mibu.
She had not slept much that morning, and before she knew it the rocking motion had lulled her fast asleep. Lying completely against Hajime's shoulder she was held in place by his strong arm. Even reaching Mibu headquarters and Hajime dismounting and settling her back into his arms didn't wake her up. Souji took Hajime's mount and said he would see to it the animal was taken care of. Hajime carried the unconscious girl into the main house.
Kaede appeared as if she had a second sense about these types of things. A room next to Hajime's on the first floor had been prepared. Hajime placed Tokio on a futon. Kaede shooed him out of the room and set about getting the girl dry and in bed. Outside the shoji door he heard Kaede laugh out loud, curiosity made him turn back but he knew if he opened that door now Kaede would turn into a she-demon. There were some fights a man shouldn't blunder into willingly. Instead he went in search of his commander.
Hajime had given Toshizou a preliminary report by the time Souji and Sanosuke came in. Toshizou couldn't help but notice that compared to Souji, Sanosuke and Hajime looked like hell. Both now had visible bandages and Hajime was favoring his side.
"I'm less that pleased at your decision to punish Takagi. I told you that Matsudaira needed his support. Perhaps I should have offered the girl to Okita."
Visibly bristling, Hajime held his tongue. The comment meant nothing he told himself. Tokio was his now and she would remain his. Toshizou could posture all he wanted. This did not fall under the fifth article and it was his right to protect her. It was the reason he went straight back to the Takagi residence instead of coming to Mibu first. If Toshizou had seen Tokio's face he would have specifically forbidden Hajime from exacting retribution and that Hajime could not let happen. Now he could afford to let all other comments glide past unopposed.
Sanosuke was not so restrained, and he was sleep deprived enough to voice his opinion. "That bastard had it com'n and if Saitou hadn't done something I would have, then I would've kicked his ass for not doing it in the first place."
"Any time," Hajime replied softly, the corners of his mouth nudged upward at the thought.
"Enough! Where were you and Nagakura during all this?" Toshizou directed this toward Souji. "I expect Saitou to be unreasonable about this; Harada would attack a noble for beating a dog, but you…"
Souji just smiled, "But Commander, the girl was badly beaten which you can ascertain for yourself, and if she is accidentally killed by her father's stupidity then where is Matsudaira's arrangements then? I also thought it best to let Saitou offer a warning before Takagi did something stupid enough to warrant his death at Saitou's hands."
Toshizou allowed his face to rest in one hand, because here was Souji, calmly delivering a reasonable, yet unwanted rational. Toshizou let out a much put upon sigh of frustration. "We will leave this discussion… for now; tell me again – in detail – about the attack on this girl. You are sure that there was foul play involved?"
Hajime exchanged a meaningful look with the others, "The potter told me that Tokio had thought she heard someone near the kiln house just moments before the attack but he couldn't find anyone when he looked, and I'm pretty sure that the potter will find that his kiln flu has been blocked up once he gets up on the roof to check. I didn't want to wait."
"And, he said that the girl who was attacked had been wearing Tokio's haori and hat when she went to the kiln," this from Souji. "It is reasonable to assume that if someone had been watching Tokio then he might mistake the other girl for the one he was after."
On the verge of collapse, Sanosuke woke up at the mention of Kana. "The girl had been bludgeoned from behind. There was a huge bloody bump on the back of her head. She didn't get that from falling down. The door had been blocked from the inside by a thick bamboo pole held in place by sacks of clay piled on either side of the door. It wouldn't have taken too much ingenuity to get that pole to fall into place from the outside."
"If Tokio hadn't noticed, or if it had just been the potter, that girl would have been dead before anybody could reach her." Hajime's fists clenched. Tokio could have easily been in that building.
Toshizou listened intently to all the comments, "So now my only question is why? What is it about a merchant's daughter that would make someone go to such lengths to eliminate her?"
Souji looked thoughtful, "Maybe they don't want an arrangement between Takagi and Matsudaira?"
"I'd believe it if I thought that word had gotten out but it's been a privately held understanding. Takagi was warned to say nothing on the subject, and it's in his best interest not to," Toshizou replied.
"Maybe it's a secret admirer that thinks she's better off dead than married to a serow," said Sanosuke helpfully. Hajime didn't even bother looking in his direction.
"Unlike the previous attack, this is the work of a skilled assassin, so unless that admirer is very well off or highly placed I'd say not, and as a matter of fact if you can't be more helpful than that go find your futon." Toshizou looked warningly in his direction. There was only so much he would put up with even from one of his overworked captains.
"If we assume for the moment that the Ishin Shishi has learned of my impending wedding to Tokio and the arrangement between Takagi and the Daimyo then we should make haste to complete those arrangements as soon as possible," Hajime delivered rationally.
Toshizou looked at him, trying to decipher if it was tactics or desire motivating Hajime to push up the wedding. He wasn't able to read a thing from the man's face. It didn't matter. The reasoning was sound. "Matsudaira will be at Nijo tomorrow, you and I should pay him a visit."
Now that the course of action had been set, Sanosuke quickly left to find a bath and his bed. Hajime left not too long afterward, leaving just Toshizou and Souji. "I'm missing some critical piece to this puzzle Souji," mused Toshizou. "Strange how such a quiet girl could disrupt so much. She certainly doesn't mean to."
"I'm not so sure about that Commander." Souji's face was unusually grim, "I hesitated to mention it in front of Harada and especially Saitou, but I recognized two of the women at the potter's compound. They are the widows of Ishin Shishi supporters."
***
Hajime sat next to Tokio's sleeping form, content to just look, knowing for once that she was safe. In her sleep she attempted to move a wayward hair off of her face and missed completely. He watched her try again, and then he reached out to brush the silky strand out her face. His hand fell across a furry sensation. He raised a thin black eyebrow in question, and pulling back the covers ever so slightly he could see a small black and white furry scarf draped across her throat. Now that the comforter had been lifted he could hear the kitten purring from where he sat. "Don't get comfortable," he whispered threateningly to the sleeping kitten, "That's my job."
TBC
***
Author Notes:
Sorry this took so long. I've been head down at work lately, but this chapter is finally done, and I also got to further flush out my outline for the rest of the story. Up until now there has been some foreshadowing but too many things have to dovetail later so I needed more detail in my outline to avoid continuity problems. You've been terribly patient and I promise not to make you wait this long again.
Lampwork (sometimes referred to as flamework), and specifically the making of glass beads, is a passion of mine. Today they are made much the same way that they've been made for centuries, except now we use hotter burning gases and compressed oxygen or oxygen generators (if you're lucky) and a torch instead of an oil lamp and bellows. I'm not sure that the Japanese would have kiln annealed their beads or not, but I have them doing it for the sake of the story. (Shameless plug: if you want to see what some fantastic lampwork beads look like just go to Ebay and do an advance search on "lampwork" then sort by price, so you can see the best mouth-watering stuff (and not the mass-produced stuff). Note: no conflict of interest in the non-profit category because I don't list my work on Ebay)
Amaterasu is the Japanese Sun Goddess.
CPR with our modern chest compression techniques didn't evolve until as late as the 1950s, but mouth to mouth resuscitation has been known since ancient times and most often used by midwives. I won't go into where Haruka picked up the idea but obviously she's witnessed it at some point in her life.
'Pointing at the moon is not the moon' is a famous Zen saying and not my creation.
About character: Since I really don't know what Saitou was like with Tokio I feel fairly unconstrained there. The Takagi family in this story is not the same as the real Matsudaira feudal retainer. I did keep her father's given name, and maybe I should have changed that too for more distinction. Mara is correct; it was for story propagation, as you see from above I really needed her to be an only child. It also simplifies the story and for pacing reasons I didn't want to get into siblings.
About the pleasure quarters: Mara makes several very good points. If you were a samurai noble, or had any pretensions to upper class, then you did not let yourself be seen openly in the pleasure quarters. Nobles would attend Noh theatre, not Kabuki theatre, etc. During the Edo Period sometimes prostitution was legal by license, sometimes it was completely banned. At this point in time it's legal but since that's so subjective you might want to protect your good name. Also, it didn't follow Buddhist ideals, but the Shinto religion seems much more forgiving.
Generally speaking samurai were supposed to refrain from the three major vices (women, drinking, and gambling). Harada is toast ;-) Just kidd'n. So personally, for my story I would say the farther up the ladder they are the more likely they would be to hide their identity. Men surrounding Matsudaira would for sure, and take some pains at it too. For my story, roshis would or wouldn't depending on who they are. Koudou or Hijikata would in my version, at least to some extent, because they have some position to uphold and have to be a step above. Harada wouldn't care. I could see him attending Kabuki theatre, drinking sake until dawn, gambling and pleasuring women without a care who saw him, but unlike Serizawa, he wouldn't bring a prostitute home. Gotta draw the line somewhere, right? My version of Saitou wouldn't go to the pleasure quarters disguise or no disguise, unless he was working, because quite frankly that world is beneath him regardless of his position in life, however, in my story Takagi – the pretentious pig – is more likely to cover his face than most of the Shinsengumi regulars.
So I think it was Ojitsji that correctly called it pseudo-historical. I'd say it's really heavy on the "pseudo". I really left behind any pretension I had at historical accuracy as soon as they went out on a "date", but I'm going to do my best to maintain that flavor. For right now all of the above fits in with the story
About names and honorifics: I went the western route with given name first, and I go back and forth over this decision myself. Since I did that I've been applying the honorific to the given name (ala Miss Daisy, instead of family name, profession, or nearest relative in age) but after reviewing my own writing I don't think I've been as consistent as I thought, so I'm going to go back and pull it all out (either it's done right or it's not done at all – right ;) I'm an easy author. I'll rewrite stuff at the drop of a hat, grammatical or content. You let me know. If you don't want to list everything in the review section (hey, I found 147 grammatical errors) just email me.
