Author's note: I don't own any thing. No songs, no historical people, no anime series. Not my fault I was born poor. Oh, and Sakura's incantation (the "Come forth from the ashes" bit) is from the movie "Makai Tensho." Now let's get on with the story. Oh, and has anyone noticed how random my titles are?
Makoto no Hata (The Flag of Truth)
Three: Say You Won't Say
Tokyo
Imperial Theater
Same Day
"A what?" General Yoneda sat bolt upright as Sakura finished. "A curse!" He eased himself back down and tiredly held his face in his hands as Sakura continued.
"It gets worse, sir. If Miyabe returns, he's bound to bring with him the great names from the rebel force in those days. We're talking people like Matsuda Juusuke, Yoshida Toshimaro, Kusaka Genzui, Takasugi Shinsaku…who knows how many? At any rate, all these men, as I'm sure you're aware, believed in accomplishing their goals with great and crushing force while sparing no one. And most of the men associated with Miyabe were known to have favored fire as their primary weapon. Given the wording of the curse, Miyabe will appear here, and given the history of the utter devastation that fire brings to this city…"
"Yes…and add to that the fact that he'll probably be using Kouma demons if he's in league with Tenkai…we've fought demons before, sure. But ghosts and demons?"
Sakura managed a slight smile. "That's where I have a plan that will help."
"Let's hear it."
"We get our own ghosts!"
Next to Yoneda, Vice-Commander Fujieda Kaede crossed her arms and shot a confused glare at Sakura. "What do you mean?"
"Simple. It's like gardening—if you have pests to deal with, you get their natural predators to take them out. If we're dealing with pyromaniac extremists from the 1860s, we get ahold of their natural predators—the ghosts of the Shogunate's soldiers and generals."
Yoneda raised an eyebrow. "Summoning spirits, eh? Shouldn't be that hard. Get started immediately."
For the first time that day, Sakura felt a small bit of relief as she straightened up and saluted.
"Yes, sir!"
"So that's about it…" Sakura took a sip of her miso soup as she let the other Hanagumi members quite appropriately digest what she had said.
"S…Summoning the ghosts of the Tokugawa Shogunate?" Sumire downed the last remaining drop of her tea with a flourish. "Where do you propose we do such a thing?"
"The stage. Probably as good a space as any, ya silly cactus woman," Kanna said around a mouthful of rice. "Certainly big enough."
"I'd have to agree with Kanna on that," Sakura nodded, silencing Sumire's incoming retort. "What do you think, Orihime?"
"I'll go with it…it sounds exciting!"
"Of course…" Sakura mused, "The real person to help with this would be Iris. What do you say?"
"You can count on me!"
Nodding vigorously, Sakura rose. "Great! Then let's all meet in the theater in two hours. Remember to dress in kimono—many of these men we're bringing in haven't seen foreign dresses or anything of the sort, so we don't want to shock them too easily. I'm counting on you guys!"
The Hanagumi went their separate ways with a chorus of "You can count on us!"
Stage
Two hours later
With a nod from Sakura, the lights in the theater dimmed and winked out, leaving the Hanagumi members, plus Oogami, sitting in a small circle in the center of the stage. The tall ceiling of the theater looked eerily still in the flickering light of the few candles they had prepared. Slowly, carefully, Sakura moved to the exact center of the circle.
"Oogami-san, I'm ready when you are. Iris, start charging the air."
Oogami brought a small bamboo flute to his lips and began playing a tune from an old Noh drama. The whistling, haunting tones shook Sakura to the core as she began to slowly chant in time to her slow dance. Beside him, Iris sat with her eyes closed, her entire focus centered on Sakura and her motions.
"Ningen…gojuu nen…" Fifty years…a day under heaven…Sakura turned, sliding her fan open and striking a pose with the following line.
"Geten no uchi o kurabureba…yume maboroshi no gotoku nari…" Man's life is like a dream, an illusion…She stamped her foot once. The air around her began to glow with Iris's forced telepathic energy.
"Hitotabi shououkete…messenu mono no…arubeki ka…" Man lives but once…all that he gains will surely perish…
Sakura snapped the fan shut and sharply pointed it downward.
"Yami no shijima ni sumu mono yo…hai no naka yori tachiide yo…" O being who lives in the shadows of death…stand and rise from the ashes…She turned, slowly tracing a pentagram on the ground around her. Iris's energy had charged her so highly that the lines began to glow brightly.
"Nanji no sumika o sute…arata na nikutai o motte sugata o warawase…" Abandon your home of darkness…appear before us in new flesh…Sakura brought the fan back up to her face and held it motionless for a moment. Sumire glanced at her and looked away…something about her seemed utterly overpowering and terrifying…
"Koko eto kitarite…waga nozomi no utsu wa o-mitashitamae…" Come forth…fulfill our desire…There was an instant that seemed to hang in the air forever…and then suddenly Sakura swept the fan open with a loud wham, dropping to the floor in a sudden crouch.
There was nothing…and then suddenly there was a bright flash like a lightning strike, and a shockwave that threw the Hanagumi several feet away. As Sakura gathered her senses about her, she could see a dim form move to a crouch in the light of the last few candles.
"Who…who is it? Someone turn on the lights!"
Someone managed to get up, because Sakura could hear the thudding of footsteps across the stage to the lights almost as loud as she could hear the beating of her own heart. As the first of the lights came on, she somehow already knew who was going to appear. Clad in full Japanese armor and leaning on a sword stained red with blood, he coughed violently, sending his own blood dripping to the floor. As he turned, Sakura knew there was no mistaking those piercing eyes and fine features.
"I…" he hacked violently again, before regaining his balance and making eye contact with Sakura. "I am…Hijikata Toshizou…of the Shinsengumi…"
