Title: Hanafubuki
Part 9: Enter the Wolf
AN: I've begun the process of going back and revising the
previous chapters because there are some parts that honestly
need work. This new part is written in the third person because
I need to fill in what's happening with the Kenshin-gumi while
our red-haired hero is held captive. This part features a
character promised at the end of the previous chapter -- even
though he doesn't really fit in with the approximate time line
(between the Tokyo and Kyoto arcs). Enjoy!
Pleas fall to deaf ears
Dark windows reveal nothing
And we meet again
Part 9
From the length of the shadows cast across the empty yard, it was clear that dusk had begun to blanket the Tokyo skyline, but at the Kamiya Dojo, neither dinner preparations nor playful banter were evident to mark the evening's arrival. No welcoming light shone from the darkened windows, and the gate remained firmly latched against intrusion. There was no mistaking the facts -- the dojo was empty.
"When I said he disappeared, I meant he just disappeared!" Kaoru stood her ground indignantly before the police officer, her ponytail trembling with both worry and indignation. "You don't think I'm lying, do you?" Beside her, Yahiko stared intently across the wooden desk, failing miserably to look intimidating. Sanosuke, glaring distrustfully with his shoulder against the far wall, was diligently engaged in the fine art of knuckle-cracking and, consequently, was no help at all.
They had arrived at the police station two hours earlier -- after discovering that their fourth companion was no longer behind them. He'd disappeared somewhere between the teashop and the flower vendor... and despite exhaustive searching, he was nowhere to be found. Had the decision been Yahiko's, the remaining trio would have returned to the dojo and trusted Kenshin to get himself home, but his views were silenced by stern glares and firm resolution as Kaoru set off for the police station while dragging her reluctant companions in tow.
As was often the case, they had no sooner arrived and presented their predicament then they were whisked off into the tangled web of government bureaucracy. No amount of name-dropping, pleading, or threatening dire consequences could win them an immediate audience -- and so they grumbled to themselves and paced the empty hallways, biding their time until at last (two hours later) they were belatedly invited to seek assistance.
"I'm filing a missing person report. Can't you do anything about it?" Kaoru slammed her palms down against the desk, her cheeks flushed red and eyes flashing in indignation. In the retreating sunlight she looked almost half-demon, half-human -- and the officer seated safely behind the flat wooden expanse jerked his head up in surprise.
His hair, cropped short and parted immaculately above his left temple, lay close to his head, and each of his brass buttons had been polished so brightly that it caught the dying rays of sunlight and spun them back into the far corners of his spartan office. He leaned tiredly on his right elbow and stifled a yawn. "I'm not saying you're lying, Miss, but I do know that men don't just disappear in the middle of the street, at not any men I know of."
"Do you even know who Himura Kenshin is?" Unable to restrain himself any longer in the presence of such stupidity, Yahiko glowered at the officer as he spat the question from perused lips. "He's not the kind of man who'd just fall into a ditch or something. If he's still missing, it means that something's seriously wrong!"
"Please, can't you send out a search party or anything?" Choosing to ignore the vehement outburst beside her, Kaoru again turned beseeching eyes upon her audience, trying pity on for size when it was clear that force and intimidation were failing to achieve results.
"Look Miss," the man responded none too gently, "I can't do anything until you present me with some solid, undeniable information about your companion's possible whereabouts. Until then, there's nothing I can do." He stared down his nose at the trio and sought to demonstrate his superiority by smoothing invisible creases from his uniform. His guests, to say the least, were not impressed.
"You lazy Meiji pigs can't get anything done, can you? If we knew where he was, we won't be here, would we?" The question, although muttered under the speaker's breath, was clearly audible, and Sanosuke raised his gaze unabashedly to meet the officer's. "You sit around all day spending money that isn't yours and blaming others for your troubles..." He shoved his hands into pockets and sighed. "C'mon Jo-chan, there's nothing to be done here. Let's go already."
But before either the kenjutsu assistant master or policeman could respond, the soft sound of steadily approaching footsteps in the hallway caught their attention, and all eyes shifted to the open doorway. The man whose silhouette fell across the floor was tall and well-built, muscular but not heavy-boned. He carried himself with a measure of unshakable confidence, and when he turned his head to regard the proceedings before him with distain, his deeply penetrating gaze sent shivers tingling up and down each person's spine in turn.
"What was that again... rooster-head?" The uniformed newcomer paused in the doorway, and as he stepped forward toward the others, there was no mistaking the long sheath of a traditional Japanese sword at his left hip. "We're lazy pigs, are we?" His words, although issued as a challenge, held neither hot-tempered aggression nor impatient belligerence.
"Ineffective morons who can't tell their heads from their --"
"Sanosuke." Kaoru closed the distance between them and tugged firmly at his sleeve. Although just as frustrated as he at the blatant lack of police response, she was growing somewhat alarmed by his increasing tactlessness. After all, they had come to the station to initiate a search -- not to be arrested themselves. "Don't mind him, Sir." She threw the sword-carrying officer a smile dripping with forced-levity. "He doesn't really mean what he says."
"I damn well mean exactly what I say, and --"
"I'm well aware of Zanza's dissatisfaction with the Meiji government. And if I'd wanted to arrest him I would have done so the moment he appeared at the station." Although he remained outside the room, the officer's stance suggested that he wasn't planning on moving on any time soon. He folded his arms deliberately across his chest. "Now, would you, in as few words as possible, explain exactly why you're here and what you want from us?"
- - - - - - - - -
Almost an hour later the trio found themselves trudging back toward the dojo empty-handed and muttering expletives while they shook their heads in resentment and disbelief. He had listened to them, listened and then led them on -- but all the while promising nothing. Then he'd turned them back out onto the street with the all-too-rational excuse that nothing could be accomplished until daylight returned.
'You don't realize, do you, just how many buildings are in this city. Even if you could narrow the search down to a quarter or neighborhood, you can't just break into private residences at night.' The man who'd given his name as Fujita Goro took a long drag on his cigarette and leaned against the wall. 'By this time he could be well on his way to Kamakura or Yokohama.'
They waited quietly outside the gate as Kaoru fumbled around for the key, then entered... hoping against hope that they'd hear a cheerful welcome from within. But inside, the walls were silent and the windows dark. Eventually the trio made an half-hearted effort to fix dinner but only picked listlessly at the food in silence. There was nothing to be said and nothing to be done beside go to bed and wait for the morning.
And so Kaoru lay staring at the ceiling in a room washed in moonlight. The night, as if to mock her restlessness, was warm and clear --perfect for viewing the cherry blossoms side by side with those held dear -- but she was alone, and the room's emptiness seemed to stretch outward for miles. She strained her ears in the semidarkness, listening intently for light footsteps or the soft swish of a shoji being slid aside, but the only reward for her trouble was the harsh call of a lone crow raising its beak to the distant sky.
Then as if in answer to her silent pleas, her fervent hopes, the floor creaked. Once. She held her breath, eyes open wide, heart suddenly racing -- had she only imagined it? Twice. Her muscles tensed, and she threw the blanket aside. But in an instant, caution overrode instinct, and she paused with her legs drawn underneath her, shallow breaths passing in an out through parted lips. Three times.
Even as she rose and slowly slipped out into the hallway her mind unconsciously analyzed the sounds, drawing comparisons from previous experience. She inhaled sharply and quickly covered her mouth to disguise the sound. At the end of the hall with his trademark white jacket and moonlight running in streams down his hair and back stood Sanosuke. Carefully, almost delicately, he took another step forward. Creak.
Surprise gave way to disappointment, which in turn gave way to frustration. Where did he think he was going at this time of the night? She was about to call to him, to accuse him of desertion, when curiosity got the better of her. Having had substantial opportunity in the past to practice moving silently about the dojo, Kaoru quickly dressed and slipped out behind him into the night.
- - - - - - - - - -
Once free of the confining walls, he set out briskly across the city, covering the distance in huge, determined strides. Sanosuke Sagara had little tolerance for passive inaction, and if no one else would take the initiative to see the job done right, he had no other option than to take on the entirety of the investigation himself.
He slowed as he approached the streets they'd walked along earlier that day and began to cast his senses outward for any hint, any clue that might lead to there whereabouts of his friend. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't worry… after all Kenshin (of all people) could take care of himself, but with Junzou and Sumire out for blood, he couldn't help shake the queasy suspicion that settled in his stomach and colored every thought with overtones of dread.
The dirt beneath his feet seemed to offer little to alleviate his fears. The constant flow of pedestrians had long-since destroyed any footprints that might have belonged to Kenshin. Still, he crouched down and ran his hands through the dust and gravel. It fell through his fingers almost like water, slippery and elusive. And so, after straightening back to his full height and rubbing his hands down the sides of his pants, Sanosuke stood alone in the middle of the deserted street wanting to turn inaction into action but not knowing how to begin.
"I should have known you wouldn't stay at home like I told you to." The cool reprimand shattered the silence, and a dark blue shadow pulled away from the nearly buildings. The police officer, in contrast to his casual pose, frowned in irritation. "The world seems to be filled with idiots and fools."
"And just what do you think you're doing here, Fujita?" Disguising his surprise with assumed belligerence, Sanosuke faced the older man with feet planted firmly and hands clenched into fists. "If you're double-crossing us, I'll --" As he advanced toward his adversary a low growl rumbled from his throat, and his eyes narrowed with anger and suspicion.
But if anything, the police officer appeared to be more amused than intimidated. "-- You'll do what exactly?" He regarded the seething street fighter with almost clinical indifference, his eyes taking note of details that half a dozen other men together would overlook. "Some thanks you give me for coming out here at night on your behalf."
"On my behalf?" Sanosuke halted his approach less than an arms length away from Fujita. "Now wait a second -- did I ask you to drag your sorry butt out here tonight? You're the one who told us to wait until morning!" His voice rose in volume, and he shook a fist at the other man's nose, but the officer didn't even flinch.
On the contrary, he smiled. "My point exactly." And with all the grace of a dancing heron he sidestepped to the right (out of range), reached into his pocket, and placed a cigarette between his lips. "You're messing up the evidence, idiot…" A thin line of smoke rose into the night. "…and you can tell the girl that there's no need to hide anymore. You'd both benefit from listening closely."
At the invitation Kaoru stepped reluctantly into the moonlight, bokken in one hand and frown spreading across her face. She had been pleased that she'd been able to track Sanosuke across the city undetected, but Fujita Goro was clearly more astute than the ordinary police officer. 'So I'm just the girl now, am I? I'll show him….'
"It's clear that there was no swordfight, no shedding of blood here today." He paused for a moment to assure that his audience was paying close attention. "Battousai's technique is based first and foremost on the speed of his attacks and their flawless execution. Any landing of his on this road would have created a substantial cloud of dust that would have settled on nearby plants and buildings. You'll also notice a lack of grooves or depressions in the road. If Himura was taken by force, the act was executed rapidly and with careful planning."
Taken aback at the casual mention of Kenshin's two identities side by side, Kaoru stared dumbly at the ground for a moment before reaching out and firmly gripping Sano's arm to prevent him from doing anything unduly rash. "You know Kenshin somehow. You knew him during the Bakumatsu." She stated the conclusion without emotion, her face white as snow. "Were you friends… or enemies?"
And to the accusation, the man, known to some as the Wolf of Mibu, took another drag on his cigarette and shrugged. "We crossed swords more than once in the past, but he's not even worth my time as he is now." He glanced up to the sky as if check the alignment of the stars. "Tonight I'm not your enemy. I'm just doing my job."
- - - - - - - - - -
Gripped by insomnia, Yahiko crawled from his futon, stretched, and tiptoed out into the hallway -- only to find the dojo empty, deserted. Kaoru's blanket lay twisted on the floor as if she'd thrown it down and run from the room. Sanosuke's futon remained folded against the wall – he hadn't even tried to sleep. 'Who do they think they are that they can just go off in the middle of the night and leave me here alone?'
He stood on the porch looking out across the courtyard, hands on his hips. The pale moonlight cast eerie shadows amongst the branches of trees and transformed familiar objects into indistinguishable gray blurs. He ground his teeth together in frustration. 'I care just as much about Kenshin as they do!' Restlessly he paced back and forth across the smoothly polished wooden slats (his work, of course).
'I don't know where they've gone… or even if they left together.' He glanced down hoping for something to kick, but there was nothing, not even dust underfoot, so he gripped his shinai in both hands and swung it down over his head betraying his pent-up annoyance and not caring in the least about the finesse of his technique. Expletives that a mind as young as his shouldn't be fluent in formed on his lips, and once more he slashed viscously thought the air. 'Shit.'
He was halfway across the courtyard before he registered that he was moving, and it was only after touching the gate that he turned to glance back the way he'd come. If he hadn't known better he would have thought that everyone was sleeping contently inside; there was no physical indication that anything was amiss. But the critical moment of hesitation passed, and in a moment he, too, opened the gate and sprinted out into the darkness.
end of part 9
Sorry for the extended pause. There's honestly way too much
going on in my life right now. Heh, you're luck to be be getting
this before spring . I've working on the next parts of
"Divergence" and "Ikedaya" simultaneously, so I'm not sure
which will be out first, but both are solidly in the works. I'm also
experimenting with a short Sano & Megumi one-shot, something
completely different from my usual! --Mir (02.21.2002)
I'm making progress on the next new chapter and am on-track
to completing it about the same time I finish editing these older
chapters. However, I just realized that I've left Kenshin, Sano,
Saito, and Yahiko hanging in the middle of the night... so I'll have
to find a way to pick up with this part of the storyline instead of
continuing along exclusively Kenshin's perspective. Ah, details,
details... -- Mir (07.29.2008)
.