WARNING: Spoilers! If you don't know who Kenji is, please read at your own risk!
WITH DUE CREDIT: This fic was loosely spun off from two fics - "Over
the Sting" by sasori and "Chronicles of a Rurouni", one of my earlier
fics.
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Yesterday's Shadow is Tomorrow's Twilight
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Chapter 31: Action Reaction
Kenji inadvertably spent the whole night on the rooftop alternating between sleeping and star-gazing.
He had not felt like going back down at all, enjoying the feel of the open air much more than he thought he would. Dawn came, and the temple slowly stirred into action, however, and the redhead remembered he had to be present for breakfast. He sat up, stretched, and leapt off the roof, giving a few sleepy servants a hearty jump-start to their mornings. He eyed their shocked countenances strangely, then ran off without a word to find his two companions.
The temple servants gradually continued along their way, murmuring among themselves about the recent addition of colourful guests and how unhealthy it was to suffer from a heart attack first thing in the morning.
As the bulk of them left, one particular servant stayed behind in the shadows. He looked at the retreating figure of Kenji with something akin to diabolical disdain, before quickly losing himself in a random group of servants who walked by his spot along the corridor.
When they passed, he was gone.
And Kenji's shadow grew just that little bit longer - unbeknownst to all.
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He found Soujirou, incidentally, after he had consciously
given up searching for the man. As he headed towards the well to get
some water to wake himself up, he saw that Soujirou was already there,
pacing along by the boundaries of the forest beyond. As Kenji pondered
if he should turn tail and run, he noticed that the wanderer had his
smile back in full force and sighed with relief inwardly.
"Hey, Soujirou!" The young boy called out, trying to keep his voice as detached and deadpan as he could. Soujirou stopped pacing and glanced up at the approaching redhead, smile stretching wider.
"Good morning, Himura-san," he greeted simply, standing to face the boy fully. His smile was so large and obviously strained, Kenji wondered if it was wise to go near him at all.
Standing a safe distance away, he gestured, "What are you doing here? It's almost time for breakfast."
Soujirou took some time to consider that question. "I'm waiting for Yukishiro-san, of course," he eventually said, and if possible, his smile grew even wider. "So that we can go together."
As for the boy, he was secretly surprised that Soujirou hadn't slaughtered the white-haired man yet. If yesterday night's episode was any indication, he now knew to never mess with Soujirou's personal belongings, unless he wanted to be pursued and traumatised for the next few days of his life.
"Well..." the boy tried to find something to say, so that he could get Soujirou out of the way of the well. Currently he was afraid to even take a step closer in fear of getting into the bad books of the boyish looking wanderer. Said wanderer had that glint in his eye that screamed 'this is my territory, get out or else' and Kenji did not like it at all. "Well anyway, whatever it is, I don't think Obasan would appreciate it very much if you let her food go cold. I hear that she'll be heading out to some weaponsmith or something later too, though I wonder what she would want to go there for..." he trailed off purposefully, glancing at Soujirou from the corner of his eyes.
True to his predictions, the wanderer's smile literally paused. "Really?" His voice was suspended with anticipation.
Kenji shrugged. "Dunno, you may want to check with her," he lied without batting a single eyelid. His skin was uncomfortable and his mouth needed a wash, dammit. He was getting to that well by hook or by crook!
"I see," Soujirou's next words were muted, and unsmiling. Soon, however, the corners of his lips curled upwards and he began hopping towards the temple interior. "I guess I'll head for breakfast first, then. See you later, Himura-san! Say hello to Yukishiro-san for me, too."
"Say what to who??" Kenji repeated dumbly, but Soujirou was already out of hearing range. Still wondering what that was all about, Kenji walked towards the well - finally! - and picked up the bucket beside it. As he prepared to dip the pail into the long awaited, refreshing throes of water, a tuff of demonic white hair suddenly poked out from the void of darkness that was the well interior. And not just that. Slowly, more and more of the white could be seen, some of it dirtied with the grime that was laden along the insides of the well, others with a gooey green, unknown substance that emitted a smell that would have the proudest skunks fleeing in a split second.
It was simply terrifying, Kenji thought as his heart skipped a beat, to see a netherworldly creature so early in the morning.
So the boy did what anyone else would have done.
He dropped the bucket, stumbled backwards and prepared to scream like a little girl.
"If that's you, little red riding hood, then you better shut up before I do something drastic," the cold, slightly panicked voice of Enishi cut off all further action from Kenji. One wet and fungus filled hand slapped itself over the edge of the well, and the other followed soon after. Not long after that, Kenji gawked openly as a rather filthy looking and filthy smelling Enishi hauled himself out from the hole in the well and crouched close to the bricks, glancing around himself with the expression of a terrified prey. "Is that drama-mama gone yet?"
The boy blinked. He glanced around the environment as well, not able to feel the presence of anyone else other than him and Enishi. Picking the upset bucket up from the ground and coughing to regain his composure, he walked towards the well to really draw some water out this time, all the while eyeing the distraught Enishi strangely. "He's been gone for a while now," he informed the man.
"Are you sure?" Enishi glanced sharply at the boy. "There's someone else--..." As if a sudden revelation struck him, Enishi stopped abruptly in his sentence. He narrowed his eyes, which were no longer darting around in fear. Slowly, he stood and brushed the broken grass off his pants. He thoroughly swept through the terrain with thoughtful eyes.
"What's wrong?" Kenji asked, as quietly as he could. He could tell that there was a possibly serious situation on hand, and did not want to jeopardise whatever plan Enishi had in his head at the moment with the wrong words.
Enishi only replied after a brief bout of silence. "Nothing, boy," he wrinkled his nose in disgust as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You stink, that's all."
Frozen in action immediately with those words, Kenji gripped the handles of the just drawn bucket tightly with untold incredulity on his face, until his fists turned white with indignation.
Overhead, the roosting birds squawked and escaped
from their nests with terrified exclamations when they heard a loud
shout of protest followed by a humongous splash of well water.
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When Kenji and Enishi entered the room, everybody turned to
stare. Not because they were late - although they were indeed the last
pair to show up - but because Enishi was a literal dripping mess, and
Kenji was emanating more anti-people vibes than they had ever seen him
emit in the few days he stayed there. The people already present
instinctively leaned backwards.
"Settle down, please," Okina, probably the only one unperturbed by the strange turn of event, said. "We can't have a proper meal like this. Misao, fetch him a towel."
The girl snapped out of her trance and stared at Okina for a while. She then wordlessly stood and exited the room to get something for Enishi to help dry himself with.
"Kenji, sit down," Okina continued to instruct, puffing heedlessly on his pipe. The redhead nodded once and settled down somewhere beside Soujirou, taking a cursory glance at the room. Besides Enishi, who was looking comical enough standing near the doorway dripping water all over the floor, the rest were seemingly encased in a block of serious aura. He shifted slightly.
"What are we supposed to do?" He finally asked.
"We'll speak when Misao gets here," Okina replied, still puffing his pipe. As if on cue, the door slid open again and Misao stepped in.
She threw a towel in Enishi's face and sat back at where she had been seated beside Okina. Undaunted, the white-haired man simply grabbed the towel and sighed. "I don't think I can get myself dried in time. I'll just sit here," he said, and promptly sat in the puddle of water he had gathered around his feet, towel over his neck. "We can start now." He closed his eyes and leaned against the doorpost pensively.
There was silence.
"Well, that is true," Okina spoke up again, when it seemed like no one else was going to. "Shall we eat while we talk, then?" He did not wait for a response, immediately taking up his chopsticks and fingering the food before him.
Everybody watched as he took a bite into the fish.
He chewed.
He swallowed.
And continued eating without turning blue or purple in the face.
"Joy! The food isn't poisoned today!" Enishi said in a sing-song voice, entirely out of character, but yet frighteningly in character at the same time. "Thank whoever kept the red away from the kitchen!"
"You!!" Kenji had one foot up and was ready to headbutt Enishi if need be, if Aoshi hadn't silenced him with a stern glance. He slinked back onto his zabuton with a pout on his face.
"Cheer up, Himura-san," Soujirou was saying in between bites, "wrinkles don't look nice on young people."
"Shut up, Soujirou," he muttered, and picked his portion up to begin his meal as well.
Other than a few hiccups and a couple more jibes at Kenji's inability to cook, the meal went on without any major conflicts and food fights.
"I believe," the oldest person in the room was saying while prodding at the remaining food on his tray, when enough time had passed for the meal to be properly consumed by all present, "the time has come for us to tell you a bit more about what we know."
Enishi looked like he was about to say something sarcastic in reply, but was stopped by Okina's outstretched palm. "Patience, young man. Let me finish first."
The ex-mafia boss simmered down unhappily, and waited.
"The spies in this temple," Okina continued, when he was sure he had everybody's attention, "were what led us to a big discovery. Apparently, the Yuugure headquarters has been engaging in legal trading with one of the local Kyoto artisans," he paused to see several people looking at him curiously, "and although they deal legally with that artisan, they also deal very secretly - both parties with each other."
"So you don't know who this artisan is," Enishi compounded, eyes narrowed.
"We are not sure," the older person replied.
"That means you have an idea," the white-haired man pressed on.
A sigh. "You really love to push, young man," Okina shook his head. "Yes, we do have an idea. But until we have solid proof that the idea is fact, then we cannot release the information to the police."
"Not even to us?" Soujirou quipped at this point of time, vaguely interested.
"No, not even to you."
"Then what's the point of this meeting?" Enishi grumbled. "If you weren't going to tell us anything in the first place."
"The point of this meeting," it was Aoshi, who surprised everybody by speaking ahead of Okina, "is to invite you to join us in today's investigation." The tall ninja opened his eyes - previously shut in seeming meditation, to survey the surprised faces of the people in the room. "There is just one last lead we need to trace to confirm the identity of our secret artisan. Once that is done, we gladly relinquish the right of the information to your personal handling, whatever the outcome may be."
Although confused, Kenji remarked, "Personal handling? You know, all of you make it seem like it's such a big crime to hand this information over to the police or something. Is that artisan guy someone important?"
"I have no qualms about disclosing the identity of the artisan to the police," Aoshi responded stiffly, his eyes closed again. "But somebody else in among us may."
The smile on Soujirou's face turned pensive, and Enishi's stern glance started to travel to the floor.
Kenji simply stared at them both, not fully understanding.
"Soujirou," before the uncomfortable silence proceeded any further, Okina's voice could be heard again. Upon hearing his name, Soujirou snapped into attention and sat upright.
"Yes?" He hastily replied, as if trying to cover up for the fact that he had obviously been daydreaming just now.
"You will go with Aoshi to trace the final lead," the old man commanded, much to the surprise of everybody present. "There is bound to be movement today, since it is a festival day and the Yuugure loves hiding behind a wall of people. Until the both of you return with further elaboration, the rest of us will remain here as decoy. Is that clear?" He eyed the audience with a questioning glance. "What's with the look of surprise on everybody's faces?"
"Pardon me, sire," Soujirou blinked once and bowed slightly when responding, "but I thought this was currently strictly an Oniwabanshuu project."
"It is," Okina replied. "That's why I'm calling the shots, you got that?" He removed his pipe from his mouth and cackled, making everybody jump out of their skins. Sticking his pipe back into his mouth he continued, "Going out with discreet numbers when spying has always been a standard rule of shinobi."
"What about Misao-san?" Soujirou asked, still smiling, but obviously confused. "She is Oniwabanshuu."
"If she is not present in the temple, the spies planted here will grow suspicious." Okina wisely deflected. Seeing that Soujirou was about to mention another name, he quickly added, "I want Kenji and Enishi to do something else, and I am too old to keep up with a well-trained criminal spy. You are, quite frankly, the fastest and stealthiest warrior among us all anyway," the seasoned spy stated, and Soujirou found that he could rebut no more. "Don't worry," Okina's face crinkled in a smile. "Aoshi doesn't bite. Not too much."
The entire room blew over with an artic wind while Okina alone laughed heartily at his joke.
"You prefer it this way too, don't you?" Aoshi spoke again, this time directing his glance towards Enishi. "Rather than let the Oniwabanshuu man the whole ship, you would at least want someone on your side help out before you will believe the information to be true anyway, isn't it?"
The two men faced off each other for a tensed moment.
Then Enishi smirked and relaxed. "Guess I don't have to try to deny that. That's right. And you're on."
As electric sparks flew between the duo, Soujirou continued smiling. In time, he asked, "And I suppose /I/ don't have a say in this at all?"
Misao sighed, standing up to start collecting the food trays away. "No, Tenken, absolutely not," was her helpful remark. There was a dull chatter in the room thereafter, when Soujirou turned to talk about something with Kenji and Aoshi and Okina began whispering to each other in lowered tones. Enishi had settled for scrubbing his hair free of grime and well water, and eventually, when Misao finished collecting the dishes, she carried them to the door and was about to slide the shouji open when Omasu did it for her instead.
The older kunoichi bowed to all present in the room. "Okina, the birds have flown out of the cage," she reported monotonously. "A few still remain. What should we do with the rest?"
"Aah," the old man laughed again and waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it. We'll send two catchers after them. Whatever else happens after that will happen," he took another puff of smoke and released the tendrils of white into the air, sighing. "We're not letting them have free rein this time."
Omasu bowed again to indicate her understanding. She then noticed the huge stack of trays Misao had beside her and smiled while saying, "Misao-chan, let me help you with that!"
"That'd be great!" Misao smiled back eagerly. "See you later, Jiiya!"
The two girls disappeared down the corridor, lightly chatting away.
"And now..." Okina slowly rose to his feet, pipe still in hand. He walked over to a bundle of cloth that had laid abandoned in the room from since the start of the meal. "Today's festival parade will march through Kawaramachi to Kiyamachi. As such most of the people there today will be in samurai garb. Just so that you can blend in without too much effort, I've borrowed a couple of haori from the temple store. Here," he turned the clothes over to Aoshi and Soujirou respectively. "Now get out there and get us that information."
Feeling somewhat inspired by the combination of what had happened so far and the anticipation of what was going to yet happen, Soujirou grasped the haori in his hands gently and nodded. "I'll do my best!"
"Just one last thing before you go," Okina said in his happy voice, and both Aoshi and Soujirou paused in front of the door they were about to head out from.
They stared at him expectantly.
"You'll have to..." He pointed. "Go out by the window."
Even Kenji sweatdropped, and Enishi bodyfaulted along with Soujirou. Of course, Aoshi was the only one remaining standing, but he uttered a resounding "......." in response, whilst Okina laughed it off like exiting by the window was the most normal thing to do in the world.
"Excuse me but..." Soujirou eventually spoke up, after recovering from the bodyfault, "... why?"
Okina suddenly grew serious, his previously laughing eyes darkening with a severity they had yet to see before. "Because..." and when he spoke, he was austere but powerful, capturing the attention of the restless crowd before him. "Because..."
"Because?" Enishi, however, had the attention span of a busy bee. He wanted to know, and he wanted to know now!
"Because..." Okina continued to trail, taking a puff from his pipe. He blew the clouds of opium out and nodded gravely to himself.
"Because I said so."
Outside, the crickets cricked.
"Come on, Soujirou," Aoshi had moved to the window and leapt out nimbly, without waiting for a positive response from his assigned partner. Although it took him a couple of seconds, the blue-clad wanderer eventually drifted to the window and carefully climbed out as well.
Once landing softly on the ground outside, he turned around and smiled uneasily. "See you later!" He greeted everybody still in the room, then vanished in a flash, presumably going after Aoshi's lead.
Okina turned to the remaining duo in the room. "And now, for /your/ mission."
Enishi immediately tensed.
"Not if it involves sneaking out of windows, I'm not doing it."
Laughing, the older person took a scrap of paper from within his sleeve and handed it to him. "I didn't say you had to. I need you both to roam around the temple until mid-day. Then you can go find the person in that address."
The white-haired man took one look at the address and nearly choked. He looked suspiciously at Okina while asking, "Why the hell are we going to find this guy for?"
The old person smiled mysteriously.
"He was the one who offered to fix Soujirou's shinai."
... to be continued
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8/7/04
tougenkyou . net / xd
a/n
this fic is swinging back into action! and i'll employ the paragraph
way of replying to reviews, since keyboard style is not allowed! XD
before
i forget - last chpt i forgot to rec a fic. EK's "Thoughts in the
Twilight." i'm still so so so shocked (happily, of course XD) that
someone spun off a fic from my fic!!! oOx read it here (remove spaces)!
fanfiction . net / read . php ? storyid = 1840282
zeromaru - ah, good to know that i'm being so appreciated. XD okay, i'll take your advice! review reply stays! mwahahah! Silver Nightingale - long time no see! sooo glad you liked the talk. i was worried it was too contrived. see you! :D misaoshiru - thank you! i hope this chapter did not disappoint! Drunken Little Monkey - yeah, and i missed you too :P EEevee - i'm not particular attached, but ff:net is frankly the place with the biggest reader base :O :O :O along with that comes badfics x 3 though. XD Fyyrrose - i missed ya too! glomp dang, you're a lazy, but good reader. XD you're the kind of reader every author will kill to have. yes! diss the dead person! hahaha XD i better stop too before i offend anyone. XD sasori - i have no idea, but you can count on me 'highly recommending' your stories the next time i review. and yes, it will be a gazillion pages long. evil smirk hamster hamster!! XD Hitokiri of the Bloodless Moon - yes yes, at your service! this time it didn't take three months, mwahaha! Sailor-Earth13 - yes, Kenji needs to think beyond the scope sometimes too XD kyon - i hope you liked this chappie too!