Sorry but this is a semi-snoozer chapter. A conflict with Kogasu but mainly explanations. GOMENNASAI!! Ks. Please R&R. I have issues with my self confidence. ^ ^ or you could just say I have a huge ego, which ever you prefere.
The children had been playing at the Aoiya in the yard. Out of nowhere, a blade had whizzed down, hitting Kaeko in the back. She had been taken. She was alive, but just barely. Megumi had gone to the Aoiya with Yahiko and Kaoru to guard the other children.
Tsukiyo lost control of her muscles for a second. Only Hiko's grip on her arm kept her from falling on the ground. She struggled to get her legs back under her, eyes wild. Hiko felt her shivering uncontrollably.
"How dare he? How dare he involve the children?" she whispered to the grass. Hiko pulled her back up before she sank down again.
"What do you plan to do?" he asked gently. Tsukiyo noticed he was wearing his sword. Kenshin and Sano came out of the woods. She went inside to change. When she came out, her hair was tied back tightly and her chest bound. A dagger glittered in her sash while her mariki gusari spun around her waist. Her eyes were hard.
"Come on. We have work to do," she whispered softly. She started to walk towards the city. The others followed silently, faces grim.
Kogasu took a sip from his glass. He didn't normally drink wine, but perhaps tonight was a befitting occasion. He had kidnapped and possibly killed one of Kazeno Ryu's daughter's charges. Soon, the game would be his. He hadn't expected her to face him in public. The first time he had had no idea. But the second time, it wasn't even her eyes that had given her away. It was the fact that, when one of her maids or servants, or whoever they were, had tripped, she had been able to catch them so quickly. It wasn't normal for a woman to make such smooth movements in a kimono over large distances.
"Perhaps she will attack the tea house. That would be interesting. I should double the guard. Not that she'd be able to do much damage. One little girl. Though perhaps as the battousai is here as well… I suppose I should. What a trial she is becoming, having to out-trick a trickster," he murmured, sipping his wine again. He swilled it in the cup, watching the red liquid swirl toward the edges.
Tsukiyo scaled the walls easily. Her chain wrapped around a spire. She pulled herself up, and stuck a hand down to the others, pulling her chain out of reach. She had sharpened the points on the chain; tiny steel thorns that stemmed from every point that an unknowing hand would grab.
They jumped down, dispatching of the guards quietly. Tsukiyo tied them to a tree and gagged them. Sano nodded the all clear, and they went toward the house.
Kogasu was reaching for a book when a servant burst in to his study.
"Master, there are intruders! The watch hasn't been seen anywhere!" A chain wrapped around his neck and dragged him backwards. Tsukiyo snapped her chain sharply, recalling it. Hiko, Kenshin, and Sano were searching for Kaeko, leaving her to deal with Kogasu.
Kogasu stood up, smiling.
"Ah, Tsukiyo! I must commend you; I never dreamed you would attempt this. It seemed so outside your area of comfort, being a spy's daughter," he said as if they were old friends. She growled at the insinuation that she was her father.
"Kogasu, where is the girl?"
"Oh, she's in a safe place right now. Don't you worry your pretty little head."
Tsukiyo watched as he drew a long sword. He tested the edge and cut his thumb.
"I suppose you wish to have some kind of duel. Barbaric things. But I did start up this game, and I finish what I start," he said, taking a defensive stance. Tsukiyo glared and charged, chain zipping through the air. He parried it and dodged away. He darted it, slicing at her head. She ducked and the chain coiled around his legs. She pulled him down and lashed out with the other end. He moved to the side just as it struck, leaving a deep indent in the wood. He tugged at both ends, dragging her in. She twitched what part she held, loosening him. He slashed at her, slicing through air. She was high above him, and then spiraled down, lashing with her chain. The force of the blow caught him across the chest. He crashed into the wall, and stood up shakily. He was smiling. No one who had been hit so hard could be smiling and sane.
"Well, it seems that I can't beat you this way, can I? You really are his daughter. The best at Fukusha. No surprise, after studying for all those years. I suppose I will just have to cheat, then…" a panel in the ceiling opened, and a figure in a cage came through. Tsukiyo's eyes widened, and she froze. It was Kaeko, bloody and beaten. She was crying.
"Kiyo-onee-sama, help me, please," she wailed. Kogasu smiled. A servant was thrown through the door, perhaps by Sano.
"Master, please, they are too strong…" he said, touching Kogasu's pant leg. Kogasu looked at the man, puzzled.
"I don't recall sending for you. I am in the middle of a conversation. Please don't interrupt," he said, and neatly beheaded the man.
"Now I shall have to get the floor re-paneled. I forgot there was so much blood… oh well. It is such a trail sometimes, having underlings who are so stupid…" he said to no one in particular. He looked at Tsukiyo, and his eyes brightened. Her eyes were on the man's head, no emotion showing.
"Well, I suppose we could strike a civilized bargain, couldn't we? I for one have had more fun this evening then I have in a long time. I don't think I am quite ready for the game to end," he said, coming closer. "Wrap that thing back around your waist. Wouldn't want to risk the girl getting hurt, now would you?"
Tsukiyo did as she was bid. He stepped forward and traced her jaw with a long finger.
"It is amazing that he produced such a beautiful girl. Hmm. It's going to be a shame to have to kill you soon," he said. Pausing, he smiled. "Perhaps I should see if his daughter is really a girl after all…" and he kissed her, tongue slitting her lips. She struggled slightly, trying to keep from throwing up. His hand slid to the back of her neck digging into her scalp, his kiss growing hungry.
Kenshin-gumi walked in, seeing Kogasu's hand travel to her stomach, a glint of metal catching the eye. Tsukiyo was shuddering uncontrollably, fighting desperately for control over her emotions. He pulled back, and smiled, stroking a lock of her hair.
"You really are beautiful. I will see you another time. Till the next game," he said, and pulled the trigger on the gun that was pointed at her side. Tsukiyo jerked back, mouth opened in a soundless scream. Kaeko shrieked, clawing madly at the bars that held her.
Kogasu noticed Kenshin. "Well, it's just a regular celebrity fest this evening! I am sorry I don't have time to chat. I would love to ask you about your adventures…please take Kazeno-dono out. I will have another one of her duels with her some other time. I'll keep the girl alive. Please see yourselves out. I have some business to attend to…oh, and watch where you step. There's a man's head rolling about somewhere, can't remember where exactly…oh, never mind, it's over in the corner. Good night!"
He left the room. Hiko picked up Tsukiyo's limp body. She was gasping for air, pain shrinking her pupils to pinpricks. Sano looked after Kogasu, growling, "Ki-sama. I say we teach him some manners now…"
"We can't. Tsukiyo-dono needs attention immediately, de gozaru yo. We will have to come back," Kenshin said, voice steely. He was glaring after the man also, knuckles white around the hilt of his sakabatou. Tsukiyo grabbed his arm.
"Kaeko, where is Kaeko?" she whispered before passing out.
Tsukiyo sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in her side. A large hand steadied her as another passed her a cup of tea. It smelled awful, like herbs had been put into it. She drank it down in one gulp, stomach objecting to the foul liquid. Breathing hard, she looked around. She saw the corner of an immense mantle.
"Where is Kaeko? Where is she, shishou?" she coughed. Hiko passed her water this time.
"Drink. You're still too weak to do anything. Kogasu got you in the side. Bullet went straight through you. You lost a lot of blood," he said, not answering her original question.
She noticed. "Hiko, where is she? Where is she, Hiko?" she asked, voice trembling in the dark.
"We couldn't get to her. Kogasu said that if we didn't leave, he would kill her. He wants another fight with you to continue the 'game'."
Tsukiyo slipped back to the ground. "No…no, that can't be. Please, tell me it's a lie…" she whispered, looking at him frantically. He looked away. She threw herself at him, punching him weakly. After a few minutes her punches stopped, her body shaking with the exertion. Hiko helped her up.
"Come on. You need to relax. We'll get her back," he said.
"You swore to me, Hiko. You swore they would be safe. And now Kaeko is a prisoner of a madman, beaten and possibly raped…you promised she would be safe!" she whispered. Hiko felt her slipping down again. He picked her up like a baby. She didn't cry, but she was swallowing hard. He took her to the river and let her sink under the surface.
"Get a hold of yourself. She's not dead yet," he said as she came up for air. She steadied herself with several deep breaths, and then nodded, climbing out. He watched her steady herself against a tree.
"You have to come to terms with it sooner or later. You'll never be able to beat him if you don't stop clinging to the past," he said harshly. Tsukiyo looked up, eyes pained.
"He was able to throw you off by comparing you to your father. We heard them. You have to let it go."
"My father…my father was a good man," she whispered, fist clenching. Her eyes went out of focus for a moment, as if she were seeing something far away.
"You want to know what happened back then. I can tell. Your breathing is softer, as if you're trying to hide your eagerness. Don't. You don't have to act like you don't want to know. All you or anyone has ever had to do was ask," she whispered. Hiko flinched, surprised. None of them had ever asked because they were worried about her reaction. In hindsight, it seemed silly; Tsukiyo was always straightforward in her answers.
"Fine, then. Tell me what happened back then that made you leave your family and come to Tokyo," he said. Tsukiyo nodded, and looked at the stars.
"My father was an Imperial spymaster. During the revolution, he gained fame, money, and fortune. But that's not where it starts. It starts with my mother…
My father married young. He fell in love with a woman named Sessei. She was beautiful. They were born from good families, both owning dojos and one outside business. My paternal grandmother was a healer; my maternal grandmother was a smith. They had been childhood sweethearts. When they married, it was like a fairytale. My father was intent on a son to bear the family name. Instead, I was born. My father was disappointed at first, but then my mother got ill after my birth. In the end, he was just happy that she was alive. Events that would lead to the revolution started happening. My father took an active part during my childhood. He knew, some how, that revolution was coming. He trained me for it, making me study Fukusha and every other fighting technique he could find. My mother made me the manriki gusari, modeled after an heirloom that was to go to the first born of our house. By the time I was thirteen, my father had taught me almost everything he knew.
That was when he began to get involved. The revolution was beginning, and my father, a fukusha master, volunteered for the post of spy master. He had traveled in his youth, learning and studying different methods of fighting. He had an entire book filled with sketches and descriptions of stances and the purpose and the theory behind every attack. He could recite that entire book by memory, and so can I. He knew he wouldn't be turned down. He knew he would be away. My mother was very sick by that point. She had attempted several other births, all of them stillborn. It broke her heart that she couldn't give my father the son he wanted so badly, the son he was trying to make me. So my father's brother came to stay with us.
Where my father was a good man, my uncle was a bad one. My father never drank a drop of alcohol in his life; my uncle thrived on it. He came home more than once during those revolution years drunk. At first, we put up with it. But then he started to go after my mother, saying that my father was gone and couldn't enjoy the wonders of marriage. I tried to stop him. He beat me, and I didn't hit him out of respect for my father. After a time, I fought back. He got the message, even if he forgot it every few weeks. I protected the house and kept the village safe. I spied a few times, though my father had originally forbidden me to. He guessed, though, and never said anything about it. That was my life until my father came back and the revolution was over. The day he returned was just three days after my eighteenth birthday. It was the best present ever, and I told him so.
I never knew if he really loved me or not. He always took things as his duty. It was his duty to protect and train his daughter, as it was his duty to take care of his brother. He loved my mother. I think she was the only person he ever really cared about.
Then, two days after he came back, he was called into town for a meeting. My uncle came home drunk. I expected to fight him away from my mother. Instead, he decided that I was old enough. He came after me. My mother tried to help me – my poor, sickly mother. Curse him, the bastard. He threw her down and beat her. She ran to get my father. She couldn't stop him; she never could, after she gave birth to me. She met my father as he was returning. He carried her back and found my uncle trying to beat me into submission. I held him off with my manriki gusari. That weapon saved my life. My father grabbed him and locked him in a room. I helped my mother clean her bruises. My father was a bit surprised that I wasn't worried about my own. I told him I had had worse. That was when he realized what had been going on for the past four years. He was angry that we hadn't told him in our letters. I told him that he had had more important things to worry about, like keeping his fighters and himself alive. If they died, then people would never be free.
He never got over his guilt of that; failing his duty, even when he didn't. And then, eight months later, my mother died. She couldn't handle her sickness any more. She died in my father's arms. I think that was the happiest I saw her, just being held by him, listening to him talk about their time together.
Four months after that, my uncle started a bar fight. My father went to break it up and was killed by a stray knife. My uncle would have taken over the house and me. I knew he would stay at the bar over night, getting sober for his grand return. I chose to leave. I left him the money and the title. I packed my things and left. I went to live my own life, free of all ties. But somehow, I never forgot that I always had duty. I wandered for a while, making money when I could. And that's been my life until I met the children."
Hiko looked at her, and noticed her gritting her teeth, refusing to cry. He wondered if she had ever cried in her life, even when being beaten.
"I'm just like my father, no matter what you say, in the respect that I've failed. Kaeko is getting hurt and I can't do a thing to stop him…" she growled angrily. She stretched and looked at Hiko.
"You are going to help me get ready for my next fight with Kogasu. Kenshin won't fight me the way you will. Come on," she said, walking back to the house. He cocked his head. She caught it out of the corner of her eye.
"Feeling sorry isn't going to help her. I need to get stronger. I've forgotten what it is like to fight for purpose bigger than myself," she said, voice steady.
Hiko nodded slowly and followed her back to the house. Her steps got less coordinated. She was almost to the door when she slumped to the ground, asleep. Hiko picked her up and carried her inside.
Tsukiyo watched him as he slept. She examined him; long hair, well muscled, tall. She wondered why this man was acting unusually normal around her when he was reputed to have an arrogant streak a mile wide. She was looking at his face when he opened one eye.
"Something for you?" he murmured, stretching his arms. Tsukiyo considered going back to bed but decided against it. She stood up to go outside. It was cool, and the night was quiet. She doubted she would be able to sleep next to Hiko anyway.
His lips curved into a smile, clearly understanding her reasons for leaving. He propped himself up on an elbow, watching as she slid into her haori.
"What's the matter? Not tired anymore?" he asked, his voice sliding down her spine and making her shiver. Her eyes were half closed when she snapped them open and cursed him softly under her breath. She left the room, hearing his soft laughter resonating in the wood.
Tsukiyo flipped the chain, relaxing slowly as her muscles recalled the old drills her father had practiced with her. Her fingers were remembering how to hold the chain without getting cut, tricks to get an especially sharp snap and ways to coil without appearing to do so. She flicked the chain, and smiled. It felt right again, holding her chain. It had been so long since she had held it with the intent to do damage. She had always held herself back, afraid of the harm she could do. But now her mind was fixed on Kaeko. She would get the girl back and if Kogasu got in her way that was too bad for him.
She remembered the days she spent holding the chain. Her father would jump her while she was doing chores and expect her to drop what ever she was doing and go through complex dances for that normally took an experienced fighter an hour and then to finish her duties on time. She smiled to herself; her mother had always given her many short chores so she had an excuse to be late if she was tired.
All the while, her fingers were moving up and down the chain, tweaking and twitching everywhere like a harpist. She opened her eyes, and focused on the oak that stood in front of her. It was dead, but still had good wood, though no animals lived in it. She stepped back with her right foot, leaning forward on her left, swinging a majority of her chain behind her.
She felt good. She felt strong. The chain was humming through the air behind her, singing softly. It felt right. The tree was Kogasu, and Kogasu would fall before her like this tree. She took one powerful step forward, chain snaking out like lightning.
It lightly batted her left side. The tree stood still for a moment, and then fell, a perfect cut separating it from the trunk. She swung the chain down in a slash. An enormous rift opened in the ground where it struck, dirt flying everywhere. She dodged the stones and landed lightly.
She smiled; dawn was upon her. The day was beginning. She lifted her face to the sky and smiled, tasting the sweet sunshine.
Soft clapping reached her ears. Hiko, Sano, and Kenshin stood, nodding in approval. Tsukiyo smiled, and leaned against a tree, watching the clouds turn rosy as the sun warmed the sky.
Hiko came up behind her and patted her shoulder. She quivered, mentally berating herself; it wasn't right that she should feel this way while Kaeko was trapped. Hiko seemed very persistent. He drew her away from the others, deeper into the woods.
"You have re-mastered your weapon. Congratulations," he said, fingering his hilt. She nodded. He drew his sword.
"Let's see how you do in a real fight. I'm not expecting a miracle," he said, smirking. She nodded, and spun the chain lightly. He slashed; she followed the path of the blade rather than try to avoid it. By doing so would have made a normal fighter stumble by trying to go after her; Hiko was not a normal fighter. He stabbed. She jumped up and away.
"You can't dodge me forever!' he pointed out. Tsukiyo shrugged, and the chain coiled around the hilt of his sword. He pulled her in. Tsukiyo remembered her last fight. Instead of fighting him, she allowed the chain to go lax and charged, jumping just out of reach and pulling him backwards. As she landed she sent the chain snapping around to his heels. He dodged it slightly, getting a nick on his ankle for her trouble. She yanked both ends away, and waited.
They continued well into the afternoon.
Hiko nodded. "You're still sluggish. You should rest a few days. Now is the time to plan your fight."
Tsukiyo shrugged again, and split a leaf that was floating down to the ground. She leaned against a tree and sighed.
"How do I know if I'll be able to beat him?" she asked. Hiko rolled his eyes.
"You just had a training session with me. Are you suggesting that any training with myself would be anything less than perfect?"
Tsukiyo smiled a little, and then started to laugh. She started back to the house and Hiko went with her. She didn't realize how close he was until she stopped and he went forward one extra step, bumping her. She turned around suddenly.
"Wait. There is one attack I'd like you to show me," she said, eyes burning. He looked at her.
"Why should I feel so inclined to do that?"
"Of course, Hiko Seijuro can't be expected to do so on the whims of a girl. But I heard that he was unbeatable with a certain technique; his favorite. If I was able to watch, I might be able to pick up a few tricks," she said honestly. Hiko brushed an imaginary hair back into place.
"Of course I assume that you would be able to appreciate this slightly more than the average person as you've seen a variety of styles. This is my favorite move, combining all nine fatal points and the incredible speed that is HIten Mitsurugi Ryuu's trademark. Ku Zu Ryuu Sen," he said, and then nodded for her to stand still.. Tsukiyo watched from the side as he prepared. Hiko smiled at her, eyes wicked, and drew his sword.
"Ku Zu Ryuu Sen!" he shouted. Tsukiyo barely had time to blink as he completed the attack. Tsukiyo saw rather than felt nine small cuts. He had only nicked the top layer of skin, bringing only a droplet of blood to the surface per cut. A small gale ripped through the trees, a tribute to his power. Tsukiyo bowed low, trying to remember his moves. At her request he prepared himself again and preformed it in extremely slow motion. Tsukiyo scrutinized him, memorizing every body movement and twitch. After three repetitions, the final at real speed, she nodded.
"I think I understand," she murmured, and bowed again. "If you will excuse me, I have some work to do. I thank you for your training. I hope it comes in useful," she said. She trotted off into the woods.
She sat at the base of a tree, running her chain through her hands. She couldn't manipulate her chain the way others manipulated a sword; that was typically the greatest strength of her weapon, its fluid movements and ability to do several things at once. But with a sword that attack was possible. With a chain, she might be able to, but only with years of intense training for that single goal. She didn't have that time.
She flicked the chain at a dummy, watching one end wrap around its neck, the diamond flicking both biceps. A nice trick to make the opponent drop a pole arm. She smirked at the thought of wrapping the dummy with her chain. She jerked up right, and looked at her chain in amazement.
"Could I do it? I have enough chain, but it would be very hard. But there in lies the simplicity…" she whispered, and stood up. She would need more wood to make the dummy as tall as Kogasu, and would have to add room for error. But if she could get it right…
Tsukiyo went in the forest to chop some trees.
Tee hee! I promise we get some T&H action – sorry but I am a sap ^ ^V any way, what will happen to Kaeko?
