Disclaimer: I do not own PMK or RK.
Chapter 22: Night Prowler
Okita's dead. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. They had watched as the flames licked away at the body. When the smoke finally cleared, all that was left of Okita-san was a pile of small charred bones and ashes. Together with Hijitaka, he had picked up the bone fragments carefully and placed them in the urn to be buried in a humble plot in the local cemetery. The Demon had actually cried.
Tetsu yawned and checked on Kondo. The infected thigh wound has given him a fever. Twice already he had torn open the stitches in his delirium. They took turns to watch at his bedside, sponging his brow to cool his fever. Tonight was Tetsu's turn. The man's forehead was still hot to the touch and he slept fitfully.
In Umeya, Suzu was unable to sleep. Again while he was going to the kitchen, he had spotted Saya sobbing silently in the corridor. He considered dragging her over to the Shinsengumi HQ more than once. But she'll fight him just like Tsuki-hime did when he tried to evict her from his room earlier.
Seeing Saya in such a state hurt him. Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat...no offense meant, Tsuki-hime. He could get Tetsu-baka to come to her. He let the water run over the angry claw-marks on his arms. He ran up to change and take his swords. Then he silently slipped out.
It was a clear night with a bright moon. He need not a lantern to navigate through the maze of alleys. He soon found himself by the back wall of the Shinsengumi compound. How did he hatch up such a crazy scheme? Must be hanging about weirdo Sakamoto too much, Suzu thought as he proceeded to think of a way to get Tetsu.
"Miaow!" Tsuki-hime? He was surprised to see the black cat sitting beside him and looking at him with her odd eyes. Then she gracefully paced over to a gaping hole in the wall where some taishi had accidentally crashed a wagon earlier in the day.
The air was stale in the sickroom. Tetsu went to open the door and allow the cool air in. Tetsu gazed at the pale moon. So much had happened recently to the Shinsengumi. Okita's death, Toudou's rebellion and Kondo's injury...And Saitou's been very edgy since that bridge incident. The moon tonight is beautiful, can Saya see it wherever she is?
What amazing good fortune! Suzu almost smiled as the redhead stepped out onto the veranda. This will save him the dangerous task of going from room to room. Then Tsuki-hime kneaded her sharp claws into the small of his back.
A sharp yelp of pain sounded from the bushes to the side of the veranda. Then the sound of breaking branches and a crash as Suzu fell out of the bushes where he had been hiding. The black cat leapt out and nuzzled his face.
"Suzu?" Tetsu hesitated. "What is it you want?" Not another duel here, surely Suzu knows this is Shinsengumi property. That racket will bring the men out. Sure enough, footsteps thundered round the corner.
"What's that noise?" Shinpachi and Harada asked in unison as they scanned the grounds. "A cat!" Shinpachi exclaimed in disgust as Tsuki-hime hissed and spat at them. As an afterthought, he called out. "Nothing to worry about, puppy-kun! Just some stray cat." Tetsu nodded silently.
Suzu waited until the duo's footsteps died away before he crawled out from under the veranda. Too close...He was barely on his feet when Tetsu grabbed his collar. "What was that about Saya you're saying? Is she with you?"
"Of course not, baka. Do you think I'd take a midnight stroll with her during such dangerous times?" Suzu retorted. He blocked a half-hearted punch that Tetsu threw at his jaw. "She's at Umeya."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"It's for Saya's sake. Believe me." Tetsu released him.
"You like her then..." Tetsu muttered. "Only as a brother likes a sister, baka," Suzu shoved him off his feet. "If you decide to come for her, do so before the 15th..."
A kunai whizzed through the air and embedded its point in the ground a few inches from them. Fighting back a curse, Suzu fled. Susumu-kun! Tetsu recognized the black-clad shinobi as he pursued the intruder. Umeya? Was Saya really at Umeya?
Damned cat! Susumu was thrown off balance when the black cat suddenly jumped at him from the shadows. When he recovered, the white-haired intruder had disappeared into the night. Tetsu was strangely relieved when Susumu returned with the look on his face that spelled failure.
"Tetsu, what happened? Are you hurt? I'm sorry the rat got away..." Susumu pulled Tetsu to his feet. "I'm fine," Tetsu dusted his clothes. The fifteenth. Hearing Kondo cried out in his sleep. Tetsu ran to attend to him, forgetting about Suzu's visit.
Susumu shrugged. He had a report to prepare for Hijitaka-san. He has put a certain restaurant in downtown Kyoto under surveillance. Any Ishii they pursued in the area always had the knack of vanishing into the alleys behind the place. Recently, there's been increased movement in the rebel factions...and he has learnt something interesting about their staff.
Suzu was thanking his lucky stars for eluding capture when... "Little brother, what're you doing out so late?" Suzu reached for his sword when the figure appeared out of the alley's shadows. Then he recognized that husky voice. Kikujo. What's she... She wore a black outfit. Figures she's our resident shinobi.
"Suzu-chan, you better not be up to something that'll hurt Ume-dono..." She reached for her kunai. "Atchoo!" Kikujo paled as she saw the black cat. "Get away from me, stupid cat!" She turned and fled still sneezing.
A breathless Suzu made it back to Umeya with the black cat. Don't tell anyone! He told Saya with a look when he startled her in the corridor. Hopefully, her Tetsu-baka will come for her before Umeko packs her off to Nagasaki.
"Her real name's Shinomori Kikujo, expelled from the Oniwabanshu after a disagreement with their former leader Okina." The disagreement involved several kunai and some bloodshed. That woman was a formidable opponent under her flirty exterior. She came close to seeing through his disguises on several occasions, or maybe she already had. Not a comforting thought for poor Susumu.
"Of course we do not know if she's retired or active." Susumu rounded off his report. Hijitaka nodded. The presence of a highly skilled shinobi is always a cause for worry. Especailly a rogue.
Author's notes:
The description of Okita's funeral is drawn from my own knowledge of cremations. After the cremation, close friends and relatives of the deceased will pick up the bone fragments one by one with chopsticks. It figures that Hijitaka and Tetsu will fulfil that role.
Upping the ante. Brought in the Oniwabanshu as suggested by DarkFusion. Shinomori? Aoshi's relative? Told you I'd develop Kikujo's character. Why is it poor Susumu seems to be bettered by female shinobis?