Beyond Rurouni Kenshin: The Meiji Era: Arashi no Hitomi (The Eye of the Storm)
By: Shadow Chaser
Started: 7/29/02. Completed:
Timeline: Meiji Era – 1898 (Meiji 30)
Author's Notes/SPOILER WARNING:
This story is based mostly off of the manga version, with slight changes following the Episodes 1-63 of the anime series. For those who have not read the Revenge Arc/Jinchuu Arc this will feature quite a bit of spoilers. Also for those who have not seen the 2nd OAV – Seishou Hen, this will also be featured in here. I changed some of the events in the OAV to suit my own purposes in this fic. Pointer One: I kept Kaoru alive…for many reasons, which will be explained in the fic. I do not own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters; they belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro-sama who is the creator and God of Rurouni Kenshin. Please do not sue for infringement. This fic has more of the Rurouni Kenshin anime feel (slapstick silliness and seriousness at the same time).
Chapter 5 – Chance Meetings: The Return of the Unexpected…
The morning found Kenji outside once more, walking up and down the streets of Tokyo, looking at some of the shops that were opening up early. He said a few good mornings to some of the shopkeepers that knew him and made his way over to the burnt remains of the Akabeko.
A police guard was already posted there, warding away curious onlookers that did not know about yesterday's events. He approached the guard carefully, as not to startle the poor guy who looked half exhausted and was ready for sleep. "Ano…junsa-san," he addressed the guard politely. "I was here yesterday and was wondering if I could examine the Akabeko…"
"Who are you? There are already three other people in there who claim to be experts…what can you add to that? Any why are you carrying a katana in broad daylight!" the officer suddenly jumped to attention and Kenji held up his hands in a gesture of peace.
"Shinju-san, stop it right now," a new voice that Kenji faintly recognize spoke up behind them and he turned around to see a fairly tall man with brown-grey slicked back hair and a brown mustache that looked to be graying severely.
Then it hit him who this person was…Aritomo Yamagata…one of the heads of the country of Japan. This was the person that held most of the power over Tokyo…and this was the person that sent his father to the Sino-Japanese War.
If it was another lifetime at all, Kenji would have felt thankful for Yamagata's arrival, but now…he felt nothing except for an empty feeling and bitterness towards the old man. Unconsciously his fist clenched and Kenji found himself wishing he could pull his sakabatou out of its sheath and deal this man a mortal blow. It was him that sent his father to the damn Sino-Japanese War, him to ask the Hitokiri Battousai to once again help the ailing Meiji government by providing morale and by helping others when he himself was already health failing.
"Himura-san," Yamagata started and Kenji involuntarily tensed against his voice. Though he had only met the Secretary of the State once or twice in his lifetime, he never liked the sweet-talk the government official usually spouted. It made him feel disgusted against that oily voice. Really, though, he never understood what his father had to do with Yamagata…and couldn't really care less for the government official.
Yamagata must have noticed his tense posture and how his hand was on the hilt of his sakabatou as he sighed once more and ran a hand through his balding brown-grey hair. "Himura-san…I know you do not like to see me here, but there is something of urgency that I need to talk to you, Myojin-san, and Sagara-san at the moment."
"If it weren't for the fact that I had a sense honor, then I would have just walked away," Yahiko's voice spoke from behind and Kenji turned slightly to see his brother with an angry expression on his face…an anger that Kenji had never seen before. Yahiko looked ready to explode with a fierce temper and he was shaking slightly.
"Yahiko…" he whispered, staring at him, eyes slightly wide.
"What do you want, Yamagata," Yahiko practically growled and Kenji noticed that some of the police officers that had surrounded them bristled and ready their guns and swords. "I thought you already had enough fun to drag Kenshin back into the life of a war to wander even more when he was sick and now you want more from us?"
"How dare you speak to the Secretary of State like that!? You insolent-" one of the officers suddenly spoke, drawing out his gun before a hand was placed on top of the gun.
"I wouldn't if I were you little man," Sanosuke stepped from behind the man, crushing his gun while he was entering the circle that had formed, some of the crowd trying to peek in to see what was going on. Another person followed behind him and Kenji started slightly to see that it was his employer, Katsu Tsukioka.
"Katsu-san, Sanosuke…" he realized that all three men were the ones that had asked to examine the Akabeko, Katsu being an explosive expert…but was Katsu friends with both Sanosuke and Yahiko?
"I wouldn't even think of drawing your weapons," Yahiko's eyes had a dangerous glow in them, "we've had plenty experience in dealing with police officers like you. And if you knew our reputations, you know that we would be able to cut you down in an instant."
"There is no need for threats, Myojin-san," Yamagata tried to keep the peace and Kenji blinked in surprise. He had never seen his brother in such a pissed off mood…and he slightly hoped that Yahiko would never turn this way again in a long time. "If you are willing, we can talk while walking. I think some of the citizens are wondering what's going on at the moment."
"I'd rather stay here. You can say what you want with everyone listening. I'm sure it's something that will eventually get out into the public," Yahiko said sarcastically.
Kenji wisely didn't say anything as he sensed that his brother wasn't in the mood to calm down or trifle with anything else. It was as if all of his frustrations and anger at Yamagata was coming through a very tightly closed barrier.
Yamagata could obviously sense that he was losing a battle of words and emotions as he finally heaved a heavy sigh and raked a hand through his hair, his composure a bit flustered. "Very well then," glancing at his officers, they nodded and began to disperse the crowd that had gathered, saying that there was nothing to see and to move along.
The crowd reluctantly backed away, but some still lingered a bit near their position, eager to hear what the Secretary of State was to say to the protector of Tokyo and his friends.
"I have information you are looking for, about the bombing of the Akabeko. I know who did this atrocious act," Yamagata's announcement floored everyone within the circle.
* * *
Chizuru Raikouji adjusted the bow to her dark green white blossom speckled kimono one more time. It was already mid-morning and she had already helped Kaoru finish the morning chores. Now as a good guest, she must take her leave. Grabbing the duffle pouch that held her gi and hakama, as well as her money pouch, she placed her shinai across a knotted area. Picking up the small bag-pouch, she stepped out of her room, a single bedroom that she had shared with the two Genzai sisters. Though they were married, they mostly kept an eye on Kaoru's Dojo for her since the woman was of weak health and couldn't do all the chores by herself.
The other guests had gone out for the morning to do their own activities, and only Megumi Takani, the famous doctor from Aizu was within the Dojo complex, her daughter playing outside with Suzume Genzai. Megumi had taken to check on Kaoru's health and as far as Chizuru knew, they were sipping tea together and talking about the old times. The Shinomori family had left early, saying that they had to get back to Kyoto because of the matters of running their inn/restaurant, the Aoiya. Though it was pleasant to meet them, Chizuru was actually a little scared of both Misao and her husband. They seemed to be more than just owners of the Aoiya…
Walking out of the Dojo and past the walls, she made her way down to the other streets of Tokyo, carefully avoiding the Akabeko area which she knew would be crowded and she would probably be tempted to by a few trinkets or something in the busy city area. A few women passing by her glanced at the bundle she held in her hands as she walked, some whispering to the other about the shinai or why she carried such a bundle. Though Chizuru knew that it was slightly unheard of for women to be learning kenjutsu in this day and age, she didn't really feel offended by it. It was common to her.
Walking past the two bridges that connected one side of Tokyo to the other, she smiled as she entered her home street, looking and remembering it's familiar stores, sights, and sounds. She let out a content sigh and breathed in the smells of her home area.
Stopping in front of a huge metal gate, Chizuru nodded to the guardsman that was stationed by the gate to her home. The guard acknowledged her and opened the creaking gate. She walked past the guard and glanced up at the huge mansion expanse that was her home. Laughing lightly, she wondered if Kenji had ever seen her house…probably not, she mused silently and continued to her front door.
Knocking gently on her front door, which was at least two and a half times the size of her, the door swung open to reveal the butler that worked for her family.
"Chizuru-dono! You're home!" the butler said in a happy voice and Chizuru smiled.
"Hai, Seiji-san. I hope my family received my pigeon message last night saying that I was to stay at the Kamiya Dojo for dinner and sleep," she asked, tilting her head slightly in question.
"Hai, hai, they did-"
"Chizuru!" the high voice of her mother came down from the spiraling staircase and she looked up to see her usual black hair artfully done up in curls and tied in a tight bun. She wore a long bottle green dress laced with gold edges and the skin that showed from her neck was something even Chizuru knew that wasn't allowed in Japanese society. Her mother practically looked like a foreigner. But then again, the Raikouji family had always been one of the first families in Tokyo and Japan to receive the latest fashion, housing, and food from the foreign countries Japan was trading with.
"Okaasan," she greeted formally with a bow.
"Now, now dear," her mother smiled and waved off the formality, "there is no need for such formalities in such a quaint household. Seiji-kun, please see to Christine's bags and such. You won't be needing the wooden bamboo thing for a while."
Chizuru winced inwardly as her mother clucked and picked at her kimono. She hated the name Christine. Her mother who loved all of the foreign things she was swamped with gave it to her. Even their home was basically built with oil lamps and the latest technology from the European worlds and the Americas. If it weren't for the fact that her mother still kept some of her Japanese vocabulary and the punishments for a disobedient daughter, she would have thought that her mother had turned completely into a foreigner.
"But okaasan-"
"Call me Mother, Christine, Mother. Not okaasan…it's too formal," her mother corrected a bit harshly and she bit her lip from saying anything else.
"Mother," she emphasized, "what about my lessons at the Kamiya Dojo?"
"Nonsense, dear, you do not need any of those lessons anymore. A respectable girl like you shouldn't go around getting dirty rolling around dirt. A girl like you should be able to learn the manners and courtesy to become a good wife for your husband. Besides, you are already of marriageable age," her mother smiled wistfully then suddenly frowned, "I don't know why your father gets those silly notions for you to be learning kenjutsu. Honestly."
"But mother…"
"No buts Christine," her mother said in a stern voice then took her hand, "now let's get you out of these…things…and get you into a dress that I've recently acquired! Yes! That will do. That's what you must see them in!"
"See who?" Chizuru tried to keep up with her mother's rapid steps up the stairs and to her room.
"A very good friend of mine. I haven't seen him for over ten years. Not since he left his self-imposed exile in China and came back. He has a son, you know…a very handsome and groomed young man. Maybe the two of you should go to the inner city tonight for the Summer Festival," her mother kept blabbing on as they entered her room and she locked the door then proceeded to take a few different colored dresses out of her closet.
Chizuru made it an effort not to wrinkle her nose against all the dresses that were piling on her bed. Instead of a futon that normal Japanese people slept on, she had one of those fluffy European beds that felt like she was about to sink into. It hurt her back whenever she slept on it, so she had taken to sleeping against the wall, her blankets draped around her, and in the morning, before the maids or her mother came in to wake her up usually, she would hop back into the fluffy thing and pretend that she was asleep.
"Now…let's see…ah! The white one should be presentable for them!" she held up an extremely large white fabric to which Chizuru tried to suppress a snort of laughter, but was only half successful. "What's so funny, Christine?" her mother glared at her, lowering what looked like a white bed cloth.
"Nothing, oka-erm…Mother," she replied, keeping her eyes downcast as not to laugh again when she saw the white dress.
"Well then, take off that kimono and put this on!" her mother clapped her hands and Chizuru sighed as she began undoing the large tie on her back.
Half and hour later, and choking on the garter that she was forced to wear in order to fit into the dress' small waist, Chizuru looked at herself in the mirror and inwardly suppressed a groan. She looked like a china doll.
"Aww…how cute! He will certainly love this dress and you do look splendid in this," her mother practically cooed and she tried to shift a bit.
"Mother…I can't really breathe," she tired to say, but all that came out was a soft whisper.
"There, there…Christine…it's okay. You're supposed to not really breathe in deep gasps. That's not like a lady. You're an angel, the pride and joy of Raikouji family. Now, come, child. We shall meet our guest." Her mother offered a hand to her to which Chizuru took reluctantly.
As they were walking into the tearoom, she prayed silently to whatever Gods there were to save her from this embarrassment. If only Kenji knew…she silently thought to herself as she walked, trying not to feel so faint from the lack of air the dress was trying to hamper her from. As of now…she wished she was Kaoru Kamiya's daughter instead of this frivolous woman's…or any other person's daughter.
"Ah!" her mother suddenly exclaimed upon opening the door to the tea room, "Yukishiro-san, allow me to introduce my daughter, Chizuru Christine Raikouji."
Chizuru looked up to see two men…one of whom had a shock of white hair and a lean form. He carried something long that was wrapped up, but she figured it had to be a katana or something to be that long. But what caught her eye was a young man, not much older than Kenji's best friend Iori. He had black hair that hung in long layers, tied at the nape of his neck with a string cord. His brilliant blue eyes sparkled and his smile was a luminous white.
"Teresa-san," the man with the white hair spoke, "this is my son, Sawato Yukishiro."
* * *
It was still a blur to him as Kenji found himself walking back home with Sano and Yahiko, the two men in front of him, silent and imposing. Though he didn't blame them, the two men had a right to stay silent because of all the anger they had bore down upon Yamagata.
The Secretary of State had explained to them that the people that had caused the explosion at the Akabeko were a rebel faction who fell from grace during Meiji 11 among the Shishio faction. They were dissatisfied with what Makoto Shishio and Houji of the Hundred Senses had promised them. And especially angry to see that Henya, the flying bat-man and the other members of the Juppon Gatana had been defeated so easily.
Teaming up with some of the more corrupt members of Japan's highest society and within the government, they have tried to strike at civilian targets to make their statement. In Kyoto and all of the other major cities like Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, and Sendai there had been civilian bombings, nothing so major as a heavily populated area, but enough to warrant some casualties and injuries to civilians.
Yamagata had also told them that there could have been shadow agents working with these corrupt people, possibly the Sanada ninjas, but it wasn't confirmed. He had then practically begged them to look into the matter, to help the government stop this internal rebellion as it was getting way out of hand.
"Please! I beg of you, stop them-"
"How, old man?" Sanosuke asked, looking very bored with the whole thing.
"The leader of the people is currently located in Tokyo…but we don't exactly know where. All we know is that he will be bombing another target within the Summer Festival days. He has already slain many of the police force, and we would have sent in our army except for the fact that they are occupied with other things," Yamagata looked desperate, something Kenji had never seen him do.
"I say we just leave this Meiji government to rot," Sano snorted derisively, making a few officers bristle once more with hostility.
"I would follow your lead Sano," Yahiko started but shook his head, "but I've seen too many suffer already. My family, my friends…as the protector of Tokyo, it's my job to eliminate this rabble. So then, Yamagata, who's their leader?"
Yamagata suddenly replaced his desperation look with one of a somber face, "He has escaped his self-imposed exile in China for the last ten years…and he's the one that sold the Rengoku battleship to Makoto Shishio."
Something within that statement obviously made both Sano and Yahiko look at him warily, almost a hunted look on their face. But they had replaced those looks with one of grimness and what Kenji thought was pure fury, though contained. Did Yahiko and Sano know whom Yamagata was talking about? He sure as hell didn't even know and glanced at the two of them with a confused expression on his face.
"So…the ugly tiger rears it's head again, ne?" Sano spit the fishbone out of his mouth and sighed heavily.
"Enishi Yukishiro," Kenji heard Yahiko whisper the name venomously.
Who was Enishi Yukishiro? As far as Kenji heard, his mother or friends did not mention the name, yet both Yahiko and Sano were familiar with the name. "Yahiko, Sano…who's Enishi Yukishiro?" he asked hesitantly.
The two of them suddenly stopped walking, making Kenji nearly crash into the "Aku" sign on the back of Sanosuke's white jacket. As one, they turned around and he backpedaled a bit to see such horrible expressions on their face.
"You tell him, Yahiko. I don't exactly know the whole story and I've tried to forget some parts," Sano looked away in discomfort and scratched the back of his head.
"Before I tell you this story, like all the others that you've heard when you were growing up…this one you must not repeat to your mother or to anyone else. Because this story is the one that eventually killed your father, from a certain point of view," Yahiko's voice was so grim that Kenji could only nod and stare at his brother with wide eyes.
A part of father's past…that eventually killed him? What happened? Kenji wondered then pulled himself from his thoughts as he realized that Yahiko was starting the story.
"Enishi Yukishiro…is…in a twisted way…your uncle…"
* * *
It was nearly two hours later and Kenji was reeling from the facts of the story that his brother had told him. It was as if so many questions he had about his father was summarized through this piece of history that he was never told about. He had found out about his father as the Hitokiri Battousai, why he became a Rurouni after killing his first wife, Tomoe Yukishiro, and why Enishi Yukishiro factored into the whole thing. He had also found out about the madman's cruel act against his mother and father, posing that his mother was dead and driving Kenshin to a deep despair only to have him recover afterwards, weakened in health…but…that was the curious part. Yahiko had said that the battles his father fought against Enishi were the ones that eventually killed him…so…how?
"Yahiko," he asked once they had started to walk back to the Dojo, the sun now beating down upon them at an angle and Kenji realized that he had not eaten in quite a while, but he didn't feel too hungry.
"Aa, Kenji?" Yahiko seemed a bit distracted and he couldn't blame him.
"How did this battle make my father die in the long run?" it seemed like an indifferent question, but Yahiko bowed his head and heaved a deep sigh.
"I can't tell you the reason," his brother finally said after a few minutes of walking in silence, "it's for your own protection…" With that, he suddenly disappeared into the entrance of the Kamiya Dojo, followed quickly by Sanosuke, the two of them leaving Kenji outside the entrance to his own musings.
"Protection? Protect me from what?" Kenji mused mostly to himself then suddenly felt a surge of anger. How dare they…he was already an adult by his own conscience and he didn't need their protection.
Jaw set, he walked in and looked around to see where did Yahiko go to, but couldn't find him anywhere. He saw Tsubame, back from her morning trek in the city, folding up the laundry that was from yesterday, little Shin-ya playing by himself near the clothesline. He took one step towards her when a hand touched his shoulder lightly, startling him.
"You need your hand checked, Kenji," Megumi's voice was kind and thoughtful, not at all the playful one he had heard yesterday and he tilted his head.
"Can't it wait, Megumi-san?" he asked, looking around to see if Yahiko had appeared anywhere.
"No. Not at the moment, Kenji. If we don't replace the bandages, the damage to your hand might be a lot worst," she reluctantly dragged him into the main building of the dojo.
I'll find you Yahiko and then we'll talk about who's protecting who, Kenji made a grim promise as he walking in behind Megumi.
* * *