Disclaimer: The usual. I do not own either RK or PMK. Don't sue me 'cos it's really not worth the effort.
Chapter 9: Melody of Illusion
Arriving in Tokyo, Rei was nervous. She had never been away from Ran for so long since they met. She needed him like he needed her. But she had a mission. She is to stop Battousai from interfering. She wore a boy's clothes and cap as she waited and observed. She picked a grass blade and started to play the melody her niichan had taught her as a child.
Katsu was passing by when he heard a familiar tune. It brought back memories of the time he marched alongside Sagara taicho. He was surprised to see the musician was a boy. The boy resembled Sagara taicho but was much smaller in built with softer features. Taicho never mentioned his family…
"Katsu! I've got your ink!" Yahiko yelled and promptly tripped, spilling ink all over Katsu's clothes. "Oops!" Katsu tried to wipe it off, but only made a worse mess. When he looked up, the mysterious boy had gone.
Use her to threaten him. With both wife and unborn child in their hands, Battousai will gladly refrain from interfering, right?After all, Saitou and Battousai are enemies. The carriage she had stolen was ready, its driver and passenger lying off the path outside Tokyo with bullets in their heads.
She donned her policeman's uniform and checked the carriage before driving it to the Kamiya dojo. She knocked and was pleased when Kaoru opened the gate. "Kenshin's not in!" she snapped.
"I know, ma'am. Himura-san sent me to pick you up… It's urgent," she lied. Kaoru blinked. "Please, we must leave for Kyoto immediately…" Rei pushed. Kaoru was really worried now. The young policeman seemed honest enough.
"Wait, Yahiko's coming too." A very surprised Yahiko stared as he overheard his teacher's words. He had intended to return to the dojo and apologize but he found himself packing both their luggage.
Soon they were making for Kyoto at a steady pace. Kaoru's feeling sleepy from her medicine and soon drowsed off inside the carriage. Yahiko elected to sit on the driver's seat with Rei. He wanted to enjoy the air; maybe he could even persuade the policeman to let him drive…
They took a corner at a good speed. Yahiko gripped his seat tight and felt the stickiness. He drew his hand away and saw it was stained with semi congealed blood. "What's this?" he questioned their escort. "Blood, from the last driver," Rei smiled sweetly as she turned towards him.
She took the reins in one hand and cocked her pistol with her free hand. "You're not…" Yahiko's words were drowned out in the burst of gunfire that followed. He fell. The carriage rolled over him, snapping bone. Inside, Kaoru fidgeted. Was that thunder? She hoped Yahiko will come in. She didn't want him to catch a cold from the rain. Her eyelids were far too heavy…
Rei blew the smoke from her pistol. She took a last look at the limp body lying in the dust. Sorry, boy… Ran didn't mention babysitting.
Miles away in Kyoto, Ran smiled as he heard the alarm being sounded as Chou's decomposing body was finally discovered in the back alley. He disappeared into the shadows. Their wolf howled, letting his ancient song ring out over the city…
The old man at Aoiya stirred. The shades of those that had gone shifted past the veil between life and death. Soon he'll be among them. He grinned as he recognized old comrades… Under the same roof, the young man they hailed as the Oniwabanshu's leader paced uneasily. The girl watching him lit a lamp before leaving him.
The redhead sat on the balcony. His keen ears picked up the song the others had missed. The same song was picked up by the former Shinsengumi captain who faced his nightmares alone in his shack after he patrolled the streets. Chou was dead. Aku Soku Zan. A gift to the Third Patrol Captain. Both Himura and Saitou had seen the bloody words at the scene.
In her clinic, Megumi attended to her patient's wounds. The boy was recovering. But what will the future hold for him? The sword had been the only way he knew… can he find another way?
"Yahiko left?" Kaoru asked groggily. She had woken up to find that they had stopped to rest. "Yes." Rei smiled. Then Kaoru realized she was bound hand and foot. "What's this?" Her heart sank as Rei pressed the muzzle of her pistol against her protruding belly.
"No sudden moves…If you try to escape, I'll shoot you, here…" Kaoru nodded. This was no time to be reckless. It's a girl. Kaoru realized. She isn't much older than me…
Katsu was ready to call it a night when he heard a weak scrapping sound outside his shack. He looked out and was shocked to see Yahiko. The boy's clothes were covered with both dirt and ominous dark stains. The boy had been shot.
"Katsu… help…" Katsu needed no further prompting. The boy had been shot in the shoulder. He had suffered broken bones when he fell off the moving carriage. One leg was dragging at an awkward angle. Hang in there! Katsu willed as he carried Yahiko to Gensai's clinic.
In the Ichimura house, Saitou's surviving child reached out with her amber eyes shining. She reached out to the shades of her mother and brothers. I'll be brave… for Papa's sake…Midori nodded as her mother's ghost kissed her brow. The girl shivered at the icy touch.
There was another shade, a stranger with a boyish face. His eyes were tired. She wondered why he had come. Her mission fulfilled, Tokio turned to her cousin. He can take them back now. The four spirits faded from the world of the living.
Author's notes:
Deja vu for Katsu. A touch of the supernatural. Dunno how it will turn out. R&R please. Thank you.