Writer's Note: Very heavy soon enough. Hope y'all can deal.
O Capitan, Mi Capitan by Leila Winters
So much had happened…and all of it much too quickly. Aoshi is here to help me…Meg reminded herself.
The image of the Hitokiri captain shooting the woman cowering on the ground flickered through her mind.
He wants peace…
Aoshi gripping her chin firmly between his fingers and telling her to get in line with the other un-born.
I am living with him…
The hard, brick wall behind her, the captain's fingers sliding down her hair.
He's a decent human being…
The doctor's navy blue cloak returned to her only moments before.
Oh god…I don't even know anything about him.
Staggering a bit at this realization, Megumi mentally scolded herself for being so stupid. Of course she didn't know anything about him! She just met him!
Good lord, if I don't get out of here soon, I'll be too dumb to keep hidden.
It had been a long day. He was not looking forward to the trek home. Overseeing the arrival of more prisoners was grueling, not to mention taxing on the mind. Now he just wanted to collapse into bed and sleep.
This was just about the time when reality came crashing down.
Ah yes…Megumi will be there…
Opening the door to the cabin, Aoshi found the woman sitting on the bed, chin resting on her curled up knees, her gray garments stiff. The captain stopped.
"You do not need to wear those clothes in here. You are free to use anything in the closet. "At the look of relief on Meg's face, he said, "I'll wait outside until you are done."
Outside in the chilly air again, Aoshi leaned his back against the door and reached into a pocket to light a cigarette. The burning in his lungs, the warmth in his cheeks, it was a welcome break from a day full of tragedy.
The door behind him shifted and he moved before it opened.
"You can come back in now," the woman said in a low voice, then retreated back into the cabin without waiting for a reply.
Flicking his unfinished cigarette into the night's darkness, the Hitokiri captain re-entered to see Megumi slipping underneath the covers as though embarrassed to be sharing the same space with him.
Modest, too…thinking that she wouldn't take kindly to his smile, he moved to the curtained off tub room to change for the night.
By the time Aoshi got under the covers, the lady doctor was practically against the wall, the blankets pulled up to her nose. She eyed the Hitokiri warily.
It was very amusing. She didn't mind sharing a bed last night…
When he turned out the light, it was very quiet. Awareness beat heavily against the walls and the sound of breathing seemed to fill the room.
Aoshi listened to the woman's movements until all was peaceful, a sure sign that she was asleep. Still, just as his mind began to wander, he felt the mattress shift, then it was still again. A few minutes later, the same thing. Aoshi opened his eyes and waited to adjust to the darkness. The woman was asleep but in the grip of some dream, her brows drawn together in consternation.
Watching her sleep brought a strange tingle to his shoulders. It was at once uncomfortable and unnerving.
Suddenly, the doctor sat up in bed and the captain quickly closed his eyes. He could sense her looking around in alarm, assessing him, and then very carefully, the woman crawled over his body to tiptoe into the "bathroom."
Aoshi waited for what seemed like forever but the woman did not come back. Pushing the covers away, he silently made his way to the back, mind racing. When he lifted the curtain aside, he saw her. Despite the darkness in the room, he could make out her silhouette, curled up like a fetus in the bathtub. Her pale skin dark against the white ceramic. She was already asleep.
Huh. That's odd…
Shinomori reached a hand out and shook her slightly.
The woman pursed her lips and curled even tighter. "No…" she murmured weakly into her sleeve.
Aoshi kept his hand on her shoulder and after a while, Meg's entire body shuddered, her eyes sprang open. She did not scream like he thought she would. Instead she blinked up at him and finally whispered in a shaky voice, "Aoshi…?"
Tugging on her hand, he pulled her up and helped her step over the tub. "You are a guest here. There is no reason for you to sleep anywhere but the bed."
"I'm sorry," the woman said, looking up at him. "I didn't mean to wake you."
The captain said nothing, only allowed her to climb back under the covers, facing the wall with her hair splayed across the pillow. He joined her and watched the muscles in her shoulders bunch as shivers overtook her body. The doctor could not find sleep. She snuggled into the blankets, returning to her fetal position and continued to shake.
Looking back, he could not remember how long he watched her, nor what compelled him that night to stretch his arm out and curl it around the doctor's waist, but it happened all the same and the woman grew still at his touch.
"Go to sleep," he said to her.
And she did.
Whatever happened, it was clear that they were strangers no more.
Megumi was alone again, washing her old garments in the bathtub. The sloshing of the water rang in her ears so loudly that she nearly missed the sound of the doorknob turning. Stopping, her ears picked up that unmistakable noise—a slight jiggling of the knob.
Emerging from behind the curtain, Meg watched the handle move a little one way, stop, then jingle a little with a different kind of noise.
Something was wrong. Aoshi had a key.
Fear entered her eyes. Someone was trying to pick the lock. Someone who didn't belong was trying to get in.
After what seemed like a concerted effort, the noise stopped altogether and the shadow under the door faded away.
Breathing a real sigh of relief, the doctor made a mental note to mention it to Aoshi when he returned.
The kickback jerked the Hitokiri captain's arm several times. They were running. Three un-born men were chosen at random and set loose. Moving targets were considered more effective practice over still ones. He missed.
Next to him, three shots were fired and he watched as the bodies fell to the ground, mid-sprint.
"You're getting soft, Shinomori," sneered Captain Hajime Saitou, gun cocked. "If you're not careful, you're next."
He only stared into the field.
Megumi flinched at her captor's sharp tone. "Aoshi, calm down."
Icy blue eyes blazed back at her. "This is a serious matter. Did anyone call out to you?"
"No."
"—knocking on the door expecting to find an answer?"
"No—"
"Was it a discreet attempt to open the door, or was it hurried and careless?"
"Quiet. I almost missed it. But Aoshi—"
"Were there any other attempts?"
"No, just the one. Sit down."
The captain preferred to pace. His face was set in hard lines and finally, he said, "Tokio would have made her presence known. This means one of two things: they either found out who I am or they found out who you are."
"I don't understand. Who I am?" Things were getting so complicated…
"I think you underestimate your value to Kyoto." Aoshi pushed on her shoulders to sit her down on the bed. "If someone found out that you are a doctor, it could mean big trouble for the both of us. They will want everything that is inside that mind of yours. Good and bad. And they will do whatever it takes to accomplish that."
He wasn't telling her something. She wanted to scream, 'Just tell me!' but she knew he would not.
It was uncomfortably quiet in the room, bursting with personal worries and concerns. Finally, Megumi asked in a voice like rain hitting a tin roof, "Why are you here, really, Aoshi?"
The officer paced thoughtfully for a long time and the woman thought he wasn't going to answer her, but he did. Today was full of surprises.
"I'm here as punishment."
"But—"
"I used to work for the government," he began, pulling up a chair from the table so that he could face her. "Protecting politicians, assassinations, security…the stuff that no one wanted to do."
Megumi felt warm. She was on the verge of something completely new. Whoever this man was, she had a feeling he wasn't the type to reveal much about himself to anyone.
Now why would I think that? Meg inwardly laughed to herself. Wonder how a guy gets so serious…
The Hitokiri captain tapped rhythms on his knee impatiently. "Three years ago, I disobeyed a direct order from my superior. As punishment, they sent me to join the Hitokiris to keep an eye on Shishio and one day kill him. It took a long time for me to get in and even longer to rise in rank. I will complete my mission, but I will not keep in contact with those officials while I am here or when things are done. I want nothing more to do with politics."
Meg cocked her head to the side. "I still don't understand, how is this punishment? This could possibly be your most important assignment."
"Yes, but they do not expect me to survive. This is a suicide mission."
Megumi didn't think she heard him right. "Wait."
"If I somehow manage to kill Shishio, they will find me and try me for treason for my tenure as a Hitokiri. Either way…" he spread his hands out to denote the uncertainty in which he lived his life.
Meg couldn't believe him. "So you're just going to let them kill you?"
"It is not up to me anymore."
The woman's eyes narrowed. Leaning forward, she placed two hands firmly on Aoshi's shoulders. "Do you want to live?"
He did not answer, only looked at her blankly.
"Answer me!"
"I don't know."
I can't believe him…what a stupid moron!
"Aoshi, if you truly want to live, that's all the answer I need. You will survive and start a new life, away from Kyoto and the bloodshed."
"They will find me."
"Ah…but you will not let them win so easily."
Perhaps he had been afraid to hope for a different life, to even hope to live past the day Shishio fell. Whatever the case, she was going to make sure he learned to hope for a better future.
Some days were more eventful than others. Sometimes a note from Tokio would slip underneath the door. Mostly it would offer a few words of encouragement, perhaps an update on Shishio's movements and warnings of present and future dangers.
Perhaps living in such close quarters does something to the mind. Neither captive nor captor minded the other's presence. In fact, it seemed as though one would take comfort in the other at times.
That's not how things are supposed to go. It began with fear and intimidation. Nothing can thrive with such brittle foundations as those.
And yet…
Megumi was organizing materials in the closet one late afternoon when the door burst open with a loud crack. Startled, the woman watched as a group of Hitokiris, black uniforms crisp and deadly, came barging in, malicious sneers pasted on their faces.
One of them came right up to her and grasped her by the arms. "You've been hiding from us, Miss Takani." The glasses perched on his nose gave him a sleazy look, as though he were trying to peer beneath the garments that she wore.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
The man laughed at her fire. "Really? Your boyfriend not like sharing? Such an inconsiderate man deserves what he gets." Without hesitation, the man pulled a gun from his holster and pressed it against her temple. "You're coming with us, doctor. Care to scream?"
Aoshi hated overseeing the new arrivals. He hated target practice. He hated being the one whose boot doubled men over.
Why was he living like this?
Something had changed and he wanted to know what it was exactly. Regardless, he knew it had all begun the day he met the doctor.
"Don't lie. It's not nice to lie. Just tell us how it's done and you can go on your merry way." Kanryuu Takeda said, waving his pistol around like a madman. He had taken her to some kind of gaming room, complete with pool table and bar. It was just her, the psycho Hitokiri captain and a handful of his lackeys. She would not be afraid of him.
"Fuck you!" she spat.
"THE FORMULA!!" he roared back, advancing on her slight form while a man behind her held her still.
"You're sick."
The Hitokiri's eyes flared wildly as he paced back and forth in front of her, practically brushing past her, gesticulating with his gun hand. "No. You know what's sick, Miss Takani, is walking around on a street, forced to look at un-born filth. Their very stench decaying the pavement around them. Blood will always tell, my dear, and it will be me who comes up with a way to kill them by the masses, cost-effectively."
"You cannot think you will kill an entire nation of people and not pay the price!"
"We've already begun! You know about poisonous vapors. I know you do. Just think: masses down by the day. Or perhaps a liquid to put in their food. Wipe them out by bedtime."
"You don't need me. There are plenty of toxins you can purchase from anywhere!"
This time, he stopped to fix her with a crazed look. "But you know a better way. I can see it in your eyes, lovely."
"There is no way to selectively kill an entire populace! What kills an un-born will certainly kill a native-born as well, you fucking righteous prick!"
But the men did not seem bothered by her outburst. It seemed to feed their energy.
"You'll want to tell us soon enough. Maybe even beg for the opportunity." Without another word, Megumi was pushed onto the hardwood floor, Kanryuu reaching for the front of her shirt.
It was getting dark and Aoshi was in a hurry to get home. He had never really thought of the one-room prison as a home, but now…it was beginning to seem more and more like one. It was such a strange thought, but no matter how dismissive, it made the captain's step that much lighter.
As he neared the cabin, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. It was cold. There were no lights on inside. A chill spiked up his spinal cord, filling him with dread and what seemed like…fear?
Rushing to the door, he found that the lock had been forced open. He pulled the door aside and stood in the entryway. The cabin was empty.
So, they'd come for her.
End Notes: Seriously, I apologize for what's about to come. I put it off as long as I could, so I hope it doesn't come out all muddled. Thanks a lot, everyone, for all the support. Next chapter is the conclusion.