Writer's Note: I've been trying to speed things along because I didn't want this to turn into a full-scale project, but it seems it has done so anyhow. Though I am fast-forwarding things a bit, it's still going a lot slower than I intended. (storyline-wise) MEA CULPA!
O Captain, My Captain (lol…that title cracks me up…)
Megumi had never been so humiliated in her entire life. She and all the other women stood shivering in the breeze as they held onto their garments. Forced to stand in a long line and deposit their things into a wheelbarrow, their bare bodies were subject to close scrutiny.
A man with white gauze wrapped around his hands and head paced in front of the assembled women. His own black uniform was accentuated with a blue ribbon and gold medallion hanging on his breast pocket. With each footfall, Megumi felt her world getting smaller and smaller. She knew this man. In fact, there wasn't a sane person in Japan who didn't know Makoto Shishio.
Running for political office, the more powerful government officials ousted him, claiming that Makoto Shishio would cause the fall of the current system. He went underground and built an army who more or less shared his ideals. Rumors ran amuck about the crimson fields of Kyoto, where the un-born were massacred in pools of family blood. Confident that his cause was strong enough, Makoto Shishio re-emerged, the founder of the newest party, the Hitokiris.
In actuality, his new faction called themselves the Juppongotana, but someone in the press labeled them hitokiris and the name stuck. Rumors about overthrowing the government whispered in marketplaces. Politicians hid in their homes, afraid of an uprising or assassination attempt. And through it all, stories of the un-born filtered through the masses. Stories of the useless being used as target practice for Shishio's army. Forced labor and random slaughters. It was a nightmare that was far from the native-born's sight, tingling their nerves with the horrific violence and lighting up gossip.
The bandaged man walked down the line of women, looking them over carefully. "Ladies. Some of you know who I am. The rest of you filth may not. You are to refer to me as Shishio-sama…leader of the most-feared army in all of Japan. In the next few minutes, you all will undergo an inspection, followed by orders of where you are to receive your uniforms. Do not bother struggling. Refusal to cooperate will hold dire consequences."
Behind the Chairman, Megumi noticed a pair of eyes watching her intently. The lady doctor's breath caught as recognition hit her.
It's that…that officer from earlier!
Not able to tear her gaze from the stoic face, Megumi felt a chill crawl up her spine as Aoshi Shinomori continued to impassively regard her. His eyes were sharp and seemed to glow with an unreal light.
On pure instinct, the woman pulled her long, black hair in front of her in an attempt to cover her bare body from the prying eyes of the male officers. Still, she didn't feel victim to lascivious looks, it was more discomfort at being the object of such methodical scrutiny.
However, Megumi's discomfort was replaced with absolute mortification as the inspectors picked their way through the assembled women, one by one, and subjected them to unspeakable horrors as their bodies were no longer their own. The doctor's eyes darted to the captain with the unreadable blue eyes, but he was already gone.
Captain Aoshi Shinomori lay on his bed in his personal one-room cabin. Staring at the wooden beams above, the captain listened to the cries of the women outside.
"Welcome to Kyoto," Chairman Shishio's parting words echoed in his ears.
Over the screams, two distinct shots rang out, signifying a very clear and definite parting of one of the un-born.
In his mind's eye, played scenes he had seen over and over again: children being ripped from their mothers and "health" inspections terrorizing the masses into submission, their bodies exposed to the elements…
So this was the life of a Hitokiri.
Given a pair of grey pants and a grey shirt, Megumi was sent to work sewing uniforms. She was quiet and kept to herself, dutifully stitching the inseam around a table with other women. Glancing up from her fabrics every now and then, she eyed the Untouchables seated around her, most with drawn faces and thin fingers.
Outside the warehouse, shouts and gunfire could be heard periodically over the hushed whispers and rustling cloths from the tables and tables of women inside. A few of the un-born would push carts through the lines and collect finished products, their gazes on the stone floor.
The doctor sewed even after her fingers were raw and cramped with the movements. A bell rang loudly through the structure and she followed the people to receive a small bowl of tasteless soup and a piece of stale bread. Sitting at a table with other somber women, Megumi dipped her bread into her bowl and ate the meager meal, afraid to look around.
A body sat itself down in front of the lady doctor. "Hi! Are you new here?"
Meg's head snapped up. She recognized the woman with the long, black ponytail as one of the sewing ladies at her table.
"I just got here today," answered the doctor quietly.
The other woman smiled. "It's tough here, but you get used to it. My name's Kaoru. What's yours?"
"Megumi."
"Nice meeting you. Do you know where your barracks are?"
Meg shook
her head.
"When dinner break's over,
I'll show you. It's lights out in one
hour."
Face still deadpan, the doctor stared at the young woman. "You seem awfully chipper for someone so close to death." Meg was surprised to see that all the other woman did was smile.
"The longer you're here, you come to either two realizations. One, that life is hopeless and full of meaningless death; or two, that not all of the Hitokiris are bad men."
"But this place…"
"It's not Shangri-La, no."
"You DID undergo the 'health inspection,' right?"
"Yes."
"Then how can you…"
The young woman leaned closer in earnest. "Miss Megumi, I speak from experience when I say that you will find many Hitokiris merciful and fighting for a different cause than that of their leader's."
In the officer's mess, Aoshi Shinomori sat at a round table with his colleagues. Jazzy piano music supplied by a woman with very nimble fingers provided tonight's entertainment. His eyes roamed over the assembled men, some he easily got along with and some he didn't.
"Shinomori, it's your move."
The captain laid his cards down. "Three of a kind."
There was a rumble of protest as the cards were rounded up and redistributed.
"Mm. Have you seen the new batch of un-born? Sorry lot. They're no fun to break in."
Aoshi eyed Captain Kanryuu Takeda. Considered one of the most zealous of the Hitokiris, the other officers made a point to steer clear of him.
"Oi! Takeda, if you keep killing 'em off, there won't be any left!" the young, brash Captain Sagara jabbed. Though said in jest, there was disapproval in his tone.
"Shut it, half-breed. If I wanted advice, I wouldn't go to a half-wit like you. It remains unknown to me why Chairman Shishio allowed you to join our ranks."
It was a painful blow. Unlike the other officers, Sanosuke Sagara was neither native-born nor un-born. He was both. Born under a native mother and a low-class father, the young captain was raised in the high society amongst the norms.
"Maa…don't be so harsh on the man. He cannot help how he was born," said one of the men. His kind smile and soft violet eyes were the only openly friendly pair at the table. Captain Himura naturally stuck out in a crowd because of his shaggy red hair and small rat tail in the back.
Takeda snorted. "Exactly. Blood will always tell. Un-born sympathizers don't belong in the Hitokiri ranks!"
"Please, Captain…" Himura pleaded.
"You've got your Untouchable bitch to pine over, so don't pretend you don't already feel sorry for them."
"That's enough!" ground out Captain Hajime Saitou, grasping the other officer by the neck. "We're done talking about this."
But Kanryuu Takeda remained unfazed. He grinned at the other man, his voice raspy. "Now, I wasn't talking about that fine specimen of a wife you have. Her blood runs remarkably true…why do you keep her locked up in that small cabin of yours, Hajime?"
Aoshi Shinomori watched as the amber-eyed captain squeezed even harder, Takeda's airway blocked for an uncomfortable few moments, before letting go and abruptly leaving the table. Kanryuu noticed he was being watched.
"What's wrong, Shinomori? Nobody love you?"
The captain merely stared impassively, his eyes unreadable. "Full house," he said, and laid down his cards.
"Let's see what barracks they put you in…" moving behind the lady doctor, Kaoru lifted the woman's hair and peered at the numbers burned into the back of her neck. "Hey! What are the odds? You're with me! You can share my bed. It can get kinda crowded…"
Megumi smiled faintly at the young woman as they began walking towards their building.
Kaoru blinked at her. "What's wrong, Miss Megumi?"
But Meg only shook her head and the rest of the walk was done in silence. Upon arriving, Megumi changed into her standard-issue white shirt and crawled into bed with the woman who was determined to make friends. Around her, beds sat inches from each other and gaunt women huddled together. It was so quiet. Meg thought she would scream. Don't these people understand what is happening? Why does no one fight back?
"LIGHTS OUT!" a soldier yelled, moments before the room was encased in darkness.
It was too much. The day's events replayed in the doctor's mind and she felt her will begin to drain away. This is it…this is how the Takani line will end…
Megumi was surprised to hear herself sniffle in the dark. More so, that her breaths came in shaky pants and tears mingled with the thin sheets.
It had been a long while before Kaoru whispered, "Miss Megumi…are you all right?"
There was no response, save for the doctor's mewing. It all seemed so hopeless…even if she were to find a way out, she bore the mark of an Untouchable…
"You know, Miss Megumi, I know things seem dark now, but you must not give up hope. I know of one Hitokiri captain who is working towards peace. He is a kind man and says that there are others among the ranks who are trying their hardest to bring Shishio down. All you can do now is find a way to survive day to day…if you can do that, it doesn't matter what else comes because you will be strong enough to withstand it," the young woman paused, afraid to go on. "Do you…understand?"
It was quiet for a long time and Kaoru thought the other woman had fallen asleep, but the bed shifted slightly and the hoarse reply came, "Yes."
A week had gone by with the same routine…early mornings, late nights, soup and bread, fingers rubbed raw, the useless rendered dead…
And yet, Megumi Takani felt eyes on her. When walking to the bathrooms or on her way to bed, she would turn to find the same pair of cold eyes observing her, studying her. The doctor did not mention any of this to her bedmate. She simply went about her days trying to dodge the prying eyes of the Hitokiri captain.
On the eighth day, a woman collapsed on the muddy pathway just ahead of the lady doctor, her body shook with coughing fits. Immediately, Megumi knelt beside the woman, checking her heart rate and breathing. Trying to make the woman as comfortable as possible, she coaxed her to focus on the breathing alone.
"That's it…don't think about anything else…"
Having watched the woman drop to her knees to aid the fallen un-born prisoner, Aoshi Shinomori stomped over, grasping her firmly by the shoulder and whirling her around.
"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.
Megumi looked up in fear at the Hitokiri captain who towered over her. "I…"
But he was not looking for a response. Instead, he planted a hand under her elbow, pulled her up, and with his other hand, fired his gun on the fallen woman. "You draw far too much attention to yourself," he said, leading her quickly away from the scene.
Rounding a corner, he released her, both with dark faces.
"What was the meaning of that??" the doctor hissed. "I could have helped her! I am a—"
In a flash, the captain had covered her mouth with his hand, pressing her roughly against the brick building. "Don't say it," he growled, their noses nearly touching. "There are a few things you need to learn about Kyoto…never stand out…it is dangerous to be in a profession such as yours."
Megumi held her breath. The sensation of the stranger's fingers on her lips was thrilling. His eyes were dangerously pale as they gazed into her own. She watched, frozen, as the captain's other hand reached out and curled around a lock of her hair, sliding down the thick tendrils of ebony.
"You didn't really think you could pass for an un-born, now did you?"
At once, he released her and pulled her across the courtyard, his strides wide and purposeful. Unlocking the door to a small cabin, he thrust her inside.
"This is where you will stay from now on. Do not open the door for anybody."
With that, he closed the door and firmly locked it.
Megumi blinked at the turn events had taken. Okaay…I'm still alive, right?
Looking around her new prison, the doctor was surprised to see that it was quite cozy. A miniature kitchen sat in the corner: cupboards, small sink and stove next to a little counter. A rectangular table sat against the wall with two chairs and a radio. A bookcase holding several volumes of varied interests lay just outside the curtained off outlet that contained only a bathtub.
…And next to Megumi lay a bed with crumpled blankets, layered for warmth. Wait a minute…Rushing to the closet and sliding it open, the doctor stared at shirts folded neatly in the little shelves, boots laying on the floor, and the familiar black uniforms hanging in a row.
End Note: lol…at that line, "You draw far too much attention to yourself…" I keep expecting Aoshi to bust out with a "Mr. Underhill." LOL!!! What can I say? I'm a movie-buff. :P Go Tolkien.
Oh yah, as for LOCATION…um…I felt it best to leave that a bit ambiguous. It didn't really seem to matter a whole lot to me. But if it's troublesome, I suppose I could write it in…
A classmate of mine has been keeping close tabs on this story as-it-is-written. She is a hopeless romantic and keeps urging me to "get to the good part." Lol…I'm delaying it as long as I can. So the previous scene is dedicated to her. Perhaps the more I upset her…the more of "my kind of story" it'll be…no. I'm not that cruel. Am I? :D