A Twist of Fate - Chapter 3
When the black envelope is sent, it means it will rain blood in the Kyoto night. Only the single-minded repetition of Heaven's justice...
Later that night, Kenshin was in the outhouse washing his hand in the washbasin, while Kaoru was at the doorway watching.
"Do you intend to keep on killing like this ?" she asked. Kenshin was silent.
The next day, Iizuka, Katsura and Katakai were sitting in a teashop, looking like strangers to the passers-by.
"Her way of speaking, her bearing, the way she's accustomed to live, even her taste in food--she's not from the capital. Since she can read and write, she's probably the daughter of a samurai family in Tokyo. We have no evidence that she's tried to contact anyone. She's very unlikely to be our spy. She probably got into some trouble at home and ran off. A stray cat, just trying to stay off the streets." Iizuka said after some thought.
"It's still an interim report. Too soon for conclusions. What's her effect on Himura ? " Katsura asked.
"...not bad... its just..." Iizuka hesitated. "Just what ?" Katsura asked.
"Lately his sword has been a little dull. That's what his inspectors say, anyway..." Iizuka said after a while.
That night, Kaoru was in the room reading a book when she heard a knock on the door. Her fingers strayed to the hilt of her katana next to her, and her senses heightened. "Who is it ?"
Katsura opened the shouji and entered the room. "Oh its you. Kenshin isn't here tonight." she relaxed when she saw him, and prepared to go back to her book.
"I know. I'm his superior. I know all his movements. I've come here tonight to talk to you about something." he said as he sat down in front of her.
~~After a while~~
Kaoru narrowed her eyes. "Madness ?"
"When I was young, Takasugi and I and many of our friends studied under a master of Shouka Sonjuu... Yoshida Shouin. He was executed in the Ansei no Taigoku. He once said that we are destroying an era of Tokugawa rule that drove men to madness. If we are to build a new age, we must let ourselves go mad now. To be mad enough not to turn away from our extreme justice. That is the driving force of the Choushuu faction. Himura is the vanguard of this mad justice. He is fulfilling the harshest of roles."
"So ? You're telling me all this because you want me to 'fulfill a role' ?"
"I'm not telling you to do anything. I just want to you understand what we're doing here. " Katsura said and left the room. Kaoru sat there looking thoughtful for a moment, before returning to her book. Downstairs, Kenshin had just returned from his killing spree, and was washing his hands clean of the blood...
A few days later, Kenshin was dozing off leaning on the wall while Kaoru was reading a book opposite him. Just then, Iizuka burst into the room. "Hey, Himura! C'mon, it's the festival, let's get going! After this we're gonna hit the red-light district--"
"Keep quiet Iizuka, you're gonna wake Kenshin up. " Kaoru snapped at him.
Iizuka looks at her puzzledly, and walks out of the room. Eh ? Himura, sleeping in front of someone else ? Maybe the joke became real afterall... He sighed. "Oh well..."
Just as he was about to sit on the porch, Katakai came bursting through the gates, panting. "Oh great ! Come, Katakai, lets go to the festival !"
"Now is not the time for a festival ! Something terrible has just cropped up !"
Kenshin woke up suddenlyly. "Iizuka was just here looking for you." Kaoru said, without looking up from her book. Iizuka and Katakai suddenly burst into the room. "Himura !"
"Katakai ? I thought you were supposed to be guarding Katsura at the--" Kenshin started.
"The secret meeting place, Ikedaya, its been raided by the Shinsengumi !" "Information is getting out !" Iizuka said.
"Nani ?! What happened to Katsura ?" Kenshin shouted angrily.
"It was too soon for him to reach the Ikedaya, so the head of Tsushima was acting in his place--and then because he was taking a nap, he narrowly avoided the disaster--but Yoshida and Miyabe and the others--" Katakai stopped short.
"Nani ?!" Kenshin was just about to race out the door when Iizuka stopped him. "Wait, Himura! It's too late! Even if you go charging out now you'll never get there in time. There are 3000 Bakufu soldiers out there! Fighting now will only make things worse for Choushuu." He calmed down. "You're right Iizuka..."
All of a sudden, the Shinsengumi burst into the building. "Nani ?! How'd they find out where we were hiding ?" Katakai yelled in disbelief.
"We'll have to hold them back first ! Himura ! You have to get out of here !" Iizuka yelled as he ran to defend him from the oncoming attackers. "Wait ! Iizuka..."
"Go !" With that, Kenshin grabbed Kaoru's hand and they fled outside.... until they reached the outskirts of the city, to the bridge where Katsura was awaiting them to give Kenshin instructions.
And so--on the brink of that night the age took a violent reversal. When exaggeration and misinformation about the Ikedaya tragedy reached Choushuu, the province exploded. In the grip of madness that knew no end, a troop of about 3000 began marching to the capital. To meet them were Bakufu forces totaling about 20,000. They could see defeat before fighting even began.
July 18, 1864. Though Kenshin and the patriots fought well, they could not hope to turn the tide. In a battle that lasted barely a day, the Choushuu losses climbed to 400, while the Bakufu casualties were less than 60. The war fires spread to 28,000 homes and many perished in the city streets.
Kenshin and Kaoru had to escape to a village in the outskirts of Kyoto, where Katsura had a small house arranged for him there. The Shinsengumi had been after him for awhile,
and they had no choice but to go. Since Kaoru had no where to go either, Kenshin let her stay with him for the time being. And so began the start of their friendship......
Author's Ramblings : Whew. Most of this chapter is translations ! That's what I hate most... it almost doesn't feel like its mine... argh !!! Dammit. I can't really say the translations were done by myself, these were taken from Serizawa Kamo's Translation Index. Now you know why I feel so bad !!! (Try writing a fic that uses alot of translations from the manga. Now you know how I feel !!) >:(
