Disclaimer: The usual, I do not own PMK.
Chapter 10: Hotaru
Hotaru found she cannot concentrate. She had added too much salt to the fish at lunch and ruined it. Twice she had washed the same pot. It's all thanks to those rumors she heard the night before! She wiped her hands on her apron and faced the evening's challenge of washing dishes. Those things can't be true of her Okita-sama...
"Okita-sama!" She squeaked as a familiar figure crossed the yard. He was wearing a dark yutaka and his swords. He was going out. Should she? Hijitaka-san had warned her against stalking Okita-sama, but Hijitaka-san is not around. She tore off her apron and left the dirty dishes.
Kichisaburo strode past the sentries unchallenged. Night was falling. Blood doesn't show much on dark colors, he mused. He knew the schedule and routes favored by the patrols. It adds to the thrill knowing that the Miburou are a street away as he killed his victim.
Hotaru scampered over the compound wall. She caught a glimpse of her Okita-sama and followed. He did not notice her as she darted from shadow to shadow to stay out of his sight. How exciting! She stifled a giggle. She had almost forgotten the thrill of stalking him.
Tetsu was looking forward to meeting Saya the next day. They had promised to go to the shrine together. His heart was singing as he clambered into the closet. His swords fell out with a clatter. He hasn't used them since Ikeda-ya. One of the blades had fallen out of the sheath. Tetsu felt strangely uneasy.
What was wrong with Okita-san lately? It was as if someone had replaced him with a stranger. With a sigh, Tetsu sheathed his swords and replaced them. He missed the old cheerful Okita-san.
She'd lost him and was lost as well. Hotaru glanced about worriedly. She was unfamiliar with this side of town. The alleys all appeared the same to her. Why would Okita-sama come here? She chose a winding alley and walked along it, hoping it'd bring her back to familiar ground. A scream rang out and was abruptly cut off. She gasped.
In the moonlight, a figure stood over an old man lying in a pool of blood with blood gleaming on his blade, his back facing her. She knew immediately that old man was dead. She stepped backwards involuntarily and knocked over some bamboo poles with a tremendous clatter. The figure slowly turned his bloodstained face towards her. It was Okita-sama.
"Too bad for you, Hotaru-san. I guess I'll have to kill you now." She watched as he approached her and slowly raised his katana.
No! It can't be him! She was speechless and frozen with disbelief. Then fear set in. It was not Okita-sama! It was that scary imposter! "You're not Okita-sama!" She yelled, turned and fled just as Kichisaburo brought the blade down...
Susumu had spent the better part of the evening as a woman inquiring about work at several inns suspected to be Choushu hideouts. He had worn one of Ayu-nee's old work kimonos. He was returning to the barracks when he found himself there. Yes, this was the very same spot he found his sister...
Memories came flooding back. I'm always running behind you because I can never catch up. Sister, will I ever become a great shinobi like you? He looked up at the starry sky, remembering his sister's smiling face. He had stood for goodness knew how long when someone ran headlong into him.
It was a young woman barely able to stand. Her back felt wet and sticky to his touch. Blood! It stained the sleeves of his kimono as it flowed out of a deep gash on the girl's back. Another attack, he thought. She could bleed to death in his arms here, unless...
Kitsune-sensei! Her place was the nearest. Shouldering the girl, Susumu hurried through the back alleys. In his haste, he twisted his ankle painfully in a pothole.
The woman put aside the yutaka she was mending and watched the two sleeping boys. The younger one fidgeted constantly as he dreamed. The older one slept more soundly due to the medicine she had given him. They reminded her of her own son. Her precious Kojirou-chan. On nights like this, she half-expects him to come back...
Urgent knocking on the door. Kitsune rose and opened it. Outside were two figures in blood-splattered kimonos. "Ayumu-chan?" She corrected herself, "Susumu-chan." She took one look at the injured girl and ushered them both into the back room. Susumu did not notice the piglet curled up near one of the futons.
Author's notes:
OK, an update. Hijitaka's still out of town.
Kitsune knows the Yamazaki siblings. Won't elaborate on their history except Kitsu-dono has something against Hijitaka.