Okay, I know everyone sounds kind of modern, but I will be putting some Edo language in here. The format is easy to follow as long as you know the vocabulary and markers. I don't know if this is going to also be humor, angst, or any other genre so just play along, okay?
DISCLAIMER: Plot's mine, but that's it
WARNING: OOC, AU
PAIRINGS: None yet (had a request for RyoSaku, but I don't know if I should accept it or decline it)
Chapter 2Edo Jail was by no means a place of death where no one would want to go voluntarily. Ryoma had never been there before and wouldn't want to come had he heard that the woman Sakuno was being kept here until her execution in a month. Now he surveyed the horrible building in front of him with disgust.
The prison was sprawled in back of a moat before the entrance. Guard towers were stationed at every corner that anyone could see for miles. Dark liquid that looked like it was mixed an assortment of unspeakable things poured out of the base and into the moat. Above the walls, the gabled roof protruded. It was obvious how the jail treated its occupants. There was weed and moss growing between the stones, missing roof tiles, and peeling plaster. A rickety bridge that looked like it could hold no more than one average man at a time was the only way to get across the canal filled with slime and the stench of blood and vomit. Near the Edo Jail were the winding streets of Kodemma-cho. It was an ideal sight for the prison well away from the administrative buildings and mansions.
Ryoma covered his nose from the unbearable stench with his sleeve and was happy that the ragged children were shrilling to block any sound that might have come from behind the neglected walls. He had heard about what went on inside that prison and they didn't sound all that pleasant. Taking a deep breath he tied his horse to a tree and crossed the bridge.
A commotion erupted in the guardhouse upon Ryoma's arrival. When he had crossed the bridge the three guards stationed there nearly broke the door down trying to go out to meet him. They exchanged confused glances at first then they bowed deeply.
"We are at your service, master," they said. Ryoma took in their unkempt appearances and armor that certainly should get replaced or fixed. Obviously these men were probably criminals permitted to bear arms so that samurai wouldn't have to do such degrading work in guarding a filthy jail.
"Yoriki Echizen Ryoma desu," said Ryoma. "I wish to interview the prisoner involved in the affair and murder." The guards gawked at the yoriki. Obviously they never had a yoriki visitor before let alone hear a request like this. Ryoma assumed that none of his colleagues went to the Edo Jail either. They probably thought that the place wasn't worth seeing compared to brothels. Finally one of the guards came to his senses and backhanded another one in the head hard.
"Itai!"
"What are you standing there for?" he growled. "Take him to the warden now!" The guard instantly obeyed and after removing the wooden beams opened the barred gates. Ryoma entered the jail preparing for the worst yet. It looked and smelled almost exactly as how he pictured it. The odor of urine and vomit was high in the air. Thirty paces beyond there was a small wooden building. When Ryoma got closer he could partially see a room that could have been an administrative office had it not been for the bad furnishing and the state of how the workers were. The guard rapped on the door.
"Hairinasai!" The guard bowed to whoever was inside.
"Warden, I bring you a distinguished visitor," said the guard. Ryoma stepped inside. The man he saw inside was a stout man who was looking over some filed papers. He was astonished to hear Ryoma's request, but complied knowing that if he argued he'd be punished.
"Tell the eta to bring this prisoner," said the warden showing a paper to the guard. The guard bowed and hurried off. Within minutes he had come back with two eta dragging a woman the ropes which binded her wrists. The woman had long brown hair up in a knot like how most woman did their hair except that it was messy as if she had been tortured. The cotton kimono she wore was filthy and reeked with the smell of the prison itself. Her small body quivered in fright at the sight of Ryoma's swords. Samurai sometimes would test the sharpness of his blade by slaying anybody who got near.
"Are you Sakuno?" asked Ryoma. The woman shakily got on her knees and bowed.
"Hai."
"Yoriki Echizen Ryoma desu. Watashi-"
Ryoma paused suddenly remembering the guard and the warden. He glared at the said men. "I wish to speak with the prisoner, alone, thank you." Hearing those words the two men quickly left without any complaints. Softening his expression slightly he turned back to the prisoner. Suddenly the woman started protesting while tugging on the sleeve of his haori.
"Yoriki-san, I didn't murder that man! I'm not even married to him! Lady Atobe was-"
"Was I accusing you of anything?" asked Ryoma silencing the woman while brushing her hand off his sleeve. "I'm here to ask you what really happened with you and the dead man."
"I-I went to a restaurant to have a meal. Then as I was having some sushi that man appeared. He had a short sword in his hand. I could tell he was drunk because of how his breath smelled. He tried to attack me, but I fought him off. Then I was hit on the head. When I came to the man was dead." Ryoma was pondering over what he heard. Inside he was thinking over several factors that might have led to the murder. Then again she could be lying and simply playing innocent.
"Anata no oshigoto wa nan desu ka?" Sakuno stuttered a bit before Ryoma could make out her sentence clearly.
"I-I help my grandmother who runs a dojo," she replied. Ryoma nodded.
"Kanojo wa doko desu ka?"
"She lives in the small house next to the Ryuuzaki Dojo in Nihonbashi."
"Arigatou gozaimasu," said Ryoma nodding his head. He nodded to the guard who took her away, but not before Ryoma mouthed as she was dragged back to her cell, "I'll clear your name before your execution."
-X-
It was a little before the dinner hour when Ryoma reached the dojo in Nihonbashi. The town itself was small so it wasn't hard to locate the dojo. The dojo itself was larger than he presumed it to be in a tiny town like Nihonbashi. Obviously the dojo was popular. Before he got there Ryoma asked some of the townspeople about the dojo. They all said that the sensei was indeed Sakuno's grandmother and that she was a great teacher.
Ryoma slid open the door and entered. Inside it looked like all the other dojos that he had visited before. Only this time there were perhaps a dozen students. They were all either sparring with each other using wooden swords or practicing basic sword swings on the side with a shinai. Towards the back was a woman perhaps in her late 60s in a gi and her hair in a ponytail. Upon Ryoma's arrival all of them stopped what they were doing and stared at the visitor. The woman in the back walked up to the front.
"We already paid this month!" she said. Ryoma quirked an eyebrow before he knew what she meant. He had heard some rumors about certain yoriki who abuse their power by forcing the townspeople to pay protection fees every month and according to the rumors the fees were high. The yoriki made a quick note in his mind to tell Mizuki to keep a better control on his other 49 colleagues. Who knows what other kinds of trouble they might be causing to the lower classes!
"I'm not here for money," said Ryoma. "I'm here to ask you about a serious matter that has come to my attention about a relative of yours. I want to ask some questions about your granddaughter." The old woman's eyes widened in surprised. Then she instructed one of the students to take over before gesturing the yoriki to come. She led him to a back room with spare shinai, bokuto, and other weapons carefully placed on separate shelves. The old woman sat down on a futon and Ryoma sat across from her.
"Anata wa dare desu ka?" asked the woman
"Yoriki Echizen Ryoma desu," replied Ryoma with a small nod of his head. "You must be Ryuuzaki Sumire." The elderly woman didn't answer right away. Instead she was staring at Ryoma. She had a confused expression on her face.
"Is your father Echizen Nanjirou?" asked Ryuuzaki Sumire. Ryoma hated to get off the subject especially when he was on a case involving the woman's granddaughter, but he answered anyway.
"Hai. Why?"
"The old man was a student of mine in this dojo," replied the master. "Has he gotten lazier?"
"Hai. Ima, back to what I wanted to talk about. Kikinasai, do you know that your granddaughter, Sakuno, has been arrested and taken to the Edo Jail?" The older woman gasped. She hadn't heard about it.
"Iie. Sakuno wa nani wo shimashita ka?" asked Ryuuzaki-sensei now concerned.
"She was accused of a murder of the son of some daimyo," replied the yoriki back in bored mode. "However, those doshin and that purple freak of a magistrate didn't gather enough evidence and apparently seemed like they were too lazy to investigate so they declared Sakuno guilty and…" He got serious at this point "…she's going to be executed in a month."
Ryuuzaki-sensei suddenly became pale. She looked like she was about to faint. Then she pulled herself together and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "What was the crime she was accused?"
"She was accused of having an affair and then accidentally killing her so-called 'husband' in the middle of a scuffle," replied the yoriki once again using his bored tone. The dojo sensei suddenly slammed her fists on the futon.
"That's not true!" she cried. Ryoma quirked an eyebrow at her.
"What's not true?"
"Sakuno couldn't have been involved in that affair!"
"Why not?"
"She was never married!"
Ryoma's golden eyes widened in surprised. The woman was still single? So in a way, she was telling the truth. Ryoma could tell that Ryuuzaki-sensei was telling the truth because of how she had paled when he mentioned about Sakuno's execution and since his father would have trusted her anyway.
"Nani?"
"True she had several suitors, but we denied all of them! I don't know who framed her or why, but whoever told the police lied!" shouted Ryuuzaki-sensei.
"She could be lying for all I know." The dojo master suddenly pinched the yoriki on the cheek. Ryoma winced as he felt the pain. For an old woman she had quite a grip!
"OKAY, OKAY I BELIEVE THE BOTH OF YOU!" yelled the helpless yoriki desperate for the dojo master to release her grip, but only succeeded in making Ryuuzaki-sensei tightening her grip on his poor cheek. The dojo master obviously hated yoriki especially the sons of ex-students of hers. "SERIOUSLY! I REALLY BELIEVE YOU!" The dojo master hesitated for a moment before letting go allowing Ryoma to rub the harassed side of his face.
"Can you clear her name?" she asked.
"I'll try."
-X-
As Ryoma once again had another meal of cheap sushi he pondered about what he heard. So Sakuno was telling the truth. Now the question was why was she framed and who did it? The first thing, he decided, was to pay a visit to the Atobe family tomorrow.
TBC…I'm sorry if it's short, but I'm trying to make them as long as possible. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Oh, and here's some references if you have little knowledge on ancient Japan.
Haori- I got a review asking what a haori was so I'll tell you. Haori is the outfit that samurai wore in the Edo Period. You know the outfit Kenshin from 'Ruroni Kenshin' wears? The top is a haori and the pants are called hakama
Hairinasai- This is the command form of the verb enter. In Edo language verbs, like English, have a present and past tense, but they also have a command version.
Watashi- Probably for all you people who know modern Japanese you're probably wondering why I put Ryoma saying 'Watashi' instead of 'Boku' or 'Ore'. Well, the reason why is in my Japanese class my teacher told even the boys to say 'Watashi' so for now I'll make Ryoma say 'Watashi' as well.
Next Chapter: Ryoma pays a visit to the Atobe family asking about what happened before the man's death