Disclaimer: I do not own PMK.
Suspense... will Okita blow his cover? Who's gonna save him?
Chapter 11: Dropping In
"Can't you tell an imposter when you see one?" The younger man sneered. Maro looked at the unconscious man on the tatami and his carbon copy in the doorway in confusion.
Tetsu had chosen to spy on Okita's room first. There were small spy holes cut into the ceiling at regular intervals, a relic from the onsen's checkered past. Tetsu had found that out on his previous trip into the crawl space. Finding it empty, he had moved onto the other rooms. They were all out for dinner. Then he heard a commotion from the weirdo's room.
"Kichi? You came all this way to warn me about an imposter? Ah, I'm so touched… by your devotion…"
"Maro, don't flatter yourself, swine. You haven't paid me for the Edo subway bomb... Your last check bounced!"
Okita-san! Tetsu stifled a gasp as he saw the young captain lying motionless by the table. He heard the sound of an argument but could not see the speakers. He moved to get a better view. Disaster struck for Tetsu as he rested his weight on a rotten ceiling board.
"Argh!" He punched right through the rotten wood and landed painfully next to Okita.
Downstairs, Heisuke and Hotaru looked up from their, er, activities and wondered what that crash could be. "Must be that crazy Yankee and his gal," Hotaru concluded. Then the pair resumed their activities.
They did not know that the Yankee and his sweetie-pie were busy teasing another couple by the waterfall pool. After pointing out that there were only minnows to be caught, Sakamoto Ryouma offered to nip down to the village and buy a frozen trout for San-nan to give his prospective father-in-law. San-nan steadfastly refused.
"Ouch…" Tetsu rubbed his bruised bottom as he awoke. Master Maro and his henchmen have them surrounded. "Er, I was cleaning the ventilation shafts… Sorry for dropping in…" Tetsu tried his best I'm-innocent-I-didn't-hear-anything smile. He could see that Okita was breathing and still alive. No such luck, Tetsu-kun.
Okita gave a groan as he regained consciousness. He had a gash on the side of his head. Kichi walked over and prodded him with a booted foot. Two Okitas? Tetsu started. He sensed that they were both in deep trouble.
"Now who's Kichi-chan?" Maro smiled wickedly as he studied the helpless pair. Okita took a deep breath. "I am, Master," he lied. Kichi grinned. He ought to have said something like 'moron' or 'imbecile' instead.
"Kichi, shoot him," Maro nonchalantly took out a gun, complete with silencer, and handed it to Okita. He pointed at the little redhead boy.
Okita-san… Tetsu pleaded silently as he gazed down the barrel of the gun. I don't want to die so young, I wanna get into the Shinsengumi, I wanna marry Saya and have kids…Please at least let me get even with Teacher's Pet Kitamura! Okita's hand ached as he gripped the firearm.
"'Kichi', it has a silencer. No one outside this room will hear it go off, right?" Kichi mocked as he drew his own weapon...
Okita made his decision. He swung about, aimed for Kichi and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. It was not loaded. Kichi smiled. There was a flash of metal and a little 'pop' sound as Kichi fired his gun.
"Okita-san," Tetsu watched in horror as blood spurted from Okita's arm. Okita bit his lip from the pain. Then Kichi aimed the gun at the boy.
NO! Okita threw himself in front of Tetsu as Kichi fired. This time he caught the bullet in the gut. He fell bleeding heavily from his wound.
No need for further pretense, Okita glared at terrorists with undisguised hatred as the full extent of their plot hit him. "You intend to bomb the Temple during the Snow Festival…" His voice trailed off as his blood flowed.
"Bingo. Too bad you wouldn't be able to do any…"
"Room service! Did anyone order sake?" Suzu called out as he knocked and waited. A burly henchman answered the door and took the tray from him. "Excuse me. You have to pay for that now…" Suzu stepped into the room in his eagerness to enforce the onsen's pay-for-sake-before-drinking policy. He caught sight of the bloodstains on the tatami.
"Suzu! Help!" Tetsu burst out of the closet where they had dragged both Okita and him like a-jack-in-the-box. Before Suzu could react, he was hoisted off his feet by Maro's henchman.
"My, my, the party keeps getting bigger…" Maro mused.
"Master! What should we do with them?"
"Kichi? Any suggestions?"
Kichi studied the semi-conscious Okita and the pair of scared boys. "I think we can leave them in the wilds for the dogs… and keep your hands off me!" Kichi swatted away Maro's hand when the leader touched his shoulder.
Okita-san's dead, Tetsu thought as they were stuffed into gunny sacks. He and Suzu were bound and gagged in addition. They wrapped a blanket around Okita to stop the blood from dripping through the sack before stuffing him in. Tetsu felt his sack being lifted and slung over someone's back.
Little Yoko had wandered off from her father again. She peered through a crack in the shoji into Maro's room. Her interest had been piqued after the white-haired boy failed to exit the room like he had done when he delivered drinks and snacks to the others.
Her eyes took in Okita being stuffed into a sack. She slipped off quietly. Something was very wrong. She wanted to fetch her sword and her Daddy. He'll make things right.
The boys and the wounded captain were carried through the onsen and out into the night unseen by anyone else. All guests and staff were occupied with their own concerns. A short stroll away from the onsen was a sheer drop into a deep ravine. The sacks were thrown unceremoniously over the safety barrier…
"Daddy! Daddy!" Yoko tugged at her father's sleeve.
"Daddy's busy!" It was time to be firm. Nagakura ignored his daughter. Yoko grabbed her toy sword and ran.
"Yoko! Behave!" He grabbed the screeching child and dragged her back into their room. He locked the door as he left, ignoring the racket from within as Yoko demolished the furniture. He waited until she had calmed down a little before hurrying off. He wondered why Hijikata wanted to see them.
He found Harada but not Toudou. The Eighth Patrol Captain had vanished.
Author's Notes:
Tetsu saving the day? Is Saizou taking flying lessons yet? Tetsu should never, ever consider a career in the Oniwabanshu. We do know where Toudou is right?
Is this the end for Okita, Suzu & Tetsu? As if...