Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. Watsuki-sama does. I'm only borrowing his characters for a while.
Chapter 5 – Dizziness
Tokio kept her eyes fixed on the ground during the rest of the reunion. She didn't pay attention to what was going on. First, only boring things were being discussed. Second, she definitely had other things to occupy her mind with. The truth was that she was feeling a little bit dizzy right now, still under the shock of her discovery, and only the simple act of filling cups of sake was demanding all of her strength.
Her father: a low life, a scum, a worm... Her father: a heavy drinker going from brothel to brothel every night.... Her father: tarnishing her family name day after day... Of course, she didn't know this for sure, but she could guess easily, by the look in his eyes and by the position of Saito's hand on the hilt of his sword earlier.
She knew what she had seen, she could guess the rest, but she couldn't really believe it. Her father, her own blood! Her father, the loving figure she had been longing for. Her father: the man in whom she had put all her hopes, all her dreams, and all her trust.
It couldn't be. Why?
Of course, there had been what Yumi had said all these years ago and what she had secretly feared, but between doubts and facts, there was a step she had not been ready to take. What had exactly happened to him during the years they had spent away from each other? Why had he lied to her on that rainy day? Why? She couldn't understand, and she didn't want to understand.
The reunion had apparently come to an end. People were leaving the room when she noticed it. She spent a few more minutes inside the somewhat reassuring walls before also going out. The men were still talking, standing in the corridor. She was going to simply bow and pass her way when she noticed that Hajime Saito was standing alone at the other end of the corridor. Impulsively, she decided to go that way instead.
Among them all, he was the man she trusted the most. Not because of his friendly look, that was for sure, but because he had rescued her from the grips of that stubborn merchant years ago. Well, if you could call that rescuing. She was under the impression that she could trust his words.
She walked to him and stopped at a reasonable distance to discretely ask:
"That man who interrupted the reunion... who was he?"
A pair of bored, golden globes silently turned her way. She repeated the question insistently, but the only reaction she got was:
"Why would I bother answering you?"
"It's only normal to do so when kindly being asked. Besides, it will take less time than denying me the right to know." She replied, her eyes hardening, becoming more impatient with every passing second.
He looked away for a while, before saying.
"What I don't quite get is why a girl like you asks... What would you do with such knowledge?"
Tokio's eyes widened angrily. It was a very simple question, and anyone, but him, would have given her the answer right away. She ignored the remark.
"Forget it. I have other ways of finding what I want to know." She proudly declared before leaving. She had only taken a few steps when she heard him say low, but distinctive.
"Tanaka."
She turned around raising an eyebrow.
"I personally don't care about what happens to the man." He shrugged, his hand resting once more on the hilt of his sword.
She simply nodded. The reason why he had finally chosen to answer didn't really matter to her. She had the information she wanted. The man's name was Tanaka. Exactly like she thought. It really was her father. It had not been just a strange and furtive impression that wouldn't last long. There was no hiding from the truth now... Shit!
As she left, far from softening, her heart hardened. She felt no sympathy for the man she had been longing for, only profound disgust. Her eyes were cold and calculating.
In her room that night, Tokio was staring at the ceiling, unable to find sleep, unable to find peace of mind. Something was disrupting her and she knew exactly what it was: the man she used to fervently love.
She didn't know much about his life during the past fourteen years. With the little information she had, she was unable to understand. She couldn't see why a man would sell his daughter to embrace this low-life.
Anyhow, Tokio was tired of judging, of trying to find explanations in the dark. She thought that she deserved knowledge because, after all, it was what had sealed her own fate. That's why, over the next few days, she asked questions around, first to her colleagues in Gion, who had never heard of her father before. Then to the kind teahouse owner who was taking good care of her career. On her behalf, a few words were sent to people living in other districts. The answers she received displeased her, but didn't surprise her at all.
The old Tanaka – she enjoyed keeping the little girl's appellation now – really was a scum. Prostitute fled away as soon as he showed up in a brothel, hoping that they wouldn't have to spend some time in his company. Innkeepers generally shook their heads, hoping that the man would leave without a fight. Everywhere he went, he was despised. Tales said that his presence was barely tolerated in the Shinsengumi. If it weren't for his past services, he would already have lost some more than vital parts of his anatomy.
Tokio shook her heard more than once seeing these replies. The missives she got all met the same fate: rapidly and violently being torn apart, before being thrown into a dark corner of her room. Each time her heart hardened a little bit more at the thought that she had cherished memories of this man. The more she heard, the more she felt the need to throw up.
She couldn't forgive the humiliation her father was inflicting to her family's name. That was something her strict education couldn't allow.
If she had a sword by her side, she would also put her hand on its hilt, waiting for the perfect occasion. She didn't really wanted revenge. No, but as the true daughter of a samurai family, she couldn't allow such a dishonour. Right now, she could have as well been the author of the five rules of the Shinsengumi.
"Tokio..."
"I don't have time for this, Aki," abruptly answered Tokio.
"I just want to..."
"No. I'm going to be late." Said Tokio before leaving Aki alone on the front porch.
If she had observed more closely, instead of being focused on her father, Tokio would have notice that Aki was frowning with a growing displeasure. But Tokio didn't have the time to care about what seemed insignificant details.
She was only looking forward to her second evening in company of the officials and the Shinsengumi members. It was only a few minutes away. She would try to learn a few more things more about her father. While his shameful current behaviour was clear, the reasons why he had fallen so deep weren't.
That evening, exactly the same men were in the room, occupying the same spots on the floor. Once again, Tokio thought that she would die from boredom, but the idea of being able to exchange a few words with one of the Miburo at the end of the discussion kept her awake and lucid. Tonight, she certainly wouldn't talk to Saito. She would try Harada instead. She hoped she would be more successful that way. In fact, from the happy grin he sent in her directions from time to time, she knew for sure that she would be more successful.
And at the end of the reunion, using all of her fake charm, she trapped Harada in a corner of the room and asked him apparently innocent questions about his life in the Shisengumi before furtively leading him on the subject of the old Tanaka. Harada did talk. Tanaka was a member of his unit. They had known him in Edo and had been surprised to see him arrive, a few years later, in Kyoto. They had taken him in, but he was more a party man and didn't take any of this very seriously. Hence, he was a mere courier...
From his corner of the room, Saito was observing the whole scene. He noticed Tokio's growing displeasure as Harada ventured in some tales about Tanaka's drinking habits. He was very aware that something important was going on. He knew, from Tokio's eyes, that she wasn't a stupid girl and that she was strong minded. He knew that you better not stand in her way once she had decided something. Those weren't gentle eyes.
He knew that she was probably planning something. Normally, the Shinsengumi captain in him would have decided to investigate more and to stop her before she did anything stupid. But this time, he just felt like watching. As he had said, he didn't give a damn about what could possibly happen to Tanaka. The mere possibility that something could in fact happen to him was entertaining. For two years, that had been one of his dreams.
Tokio looked at him and realised that she was being watched and judged by a stronger opponent. Yet, she sustained his stare. She had every right to ask and she had every right to be livid right now.
That night, while walking back home, Tokio was mentally exhausted, but happy to be engulfed by the fresh air. The sky was clear, the moon was high and tomorrow birds would sing. It would be another day. A day she wished would be better than this one. But she had her doubts.
She crossed the path of a drunken man stumbling on his feet. He had a hard time walking straight, zigzagging instead. She was twenty feet away from him, when he fell violently forward into the muddy street.
As the man vomited in public, Tokio stopped short, disgusted by the ungraceful sight. There were things you did in the street and there were things you did in private. Not in front of a lady.
She was still immobile when Kondo's group, who had left the teahouse after her, joined her. The men followed the line of her gaze and spotted the source of her horrified look, who was now lying almost dead in the dark street.
While Kondo, Saito and Hijikata shared a few words, Harada ran to the man, who had a hard time only keeling. He raised his head, conscious of being surrounded by peers he did not necessarily wished to see right now. And that is when Tokio realised. That was her father...
The old Tanaka registered the sight of a geisha looking down at him and grumbled something that probably wasn't proper, before falling back on the ground.
"I apologise on his behalf Tokio-san," yelled Harada, who was the only one who had heard the whole thing.
Tokio still hadn't move, but her mind was working at full speed. She wasn't blind; she could see the man struggling to get back on his feet, visibly angered with something. She could see the decadence. She could also hear glimpse of Kondo's conversation with the others. Saito would still have to content himself with simply putting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Even if the man was currently visibly transgressing the first law of the Shisengumi code, Kondo still wanted to give him a chance. It was the first time that the man went that far. He always drank a lot, caused a few problems here and there, but could stop before completely losing control. He had been a friend back in Edo, at the time of the dojo, helping them starting in life. He was still sober then and had helped them enormously. They could close their eyes for once.
Saito snorted and Hijikata visibly thought that the rules were there for everyone and that, whatever Kondo thought, it wasn't the first time Tanaka was getting himself in trouble. He had always been protected, due to the past friendship, but... If you want to be serious about something, the same rules should apply to everyone.
"Don't say that name!" yelled Tokio's father who had finally got back to his feet and. "I don't like the sound of it."
"Tokio-san?" asked Harada, puzzled.
"Yeah," replied the other man, lower. "Bad memories. Very bad memories."
"Then I won't say it again," philosophically answered Harada, before winking in Tokio's direction and dragging the man away.
Kondo also start walking and Hijikata followed, shaking his head. But Tokio still hadn't moved.
"A relative...?" Saito asked to her hear, startling her.
"None of your fucking business," was the harsh reply. Tokio had no time for any sort of game right now. She was busy observing the silhouettes of the group of men, thinking.
Saito smirked and they exchanged a short meaningful glance before parting.
Tokio was thinking about the shame her father brought to everyone. She recalled the probably dirty words he had told her and her blood boiled in her veins. She recalled how he had referred to her name. She recalled Hijikata's and Saito's expressions: it definitely wasn't the first offence. She knew that such a man needed to be punished. And she knew that, in the world they lived in, the more common option was death.
She suddenly wished for it, without blinking, thinking of how unfortunate was Kondo's past friendship with her father. He would have been dead long ago if not. He would have been dead and she, Tokio, would never have suffered the humiliation that was brought upon her right now. He would have been dead and the tale would have ended before it even started.
But she was grateful that these events were happening now and not a few years ago when she stilled lacked maturity and determination. She wouldn't have been able to handle the situation as coldly as she was now. She thought about all the times when, during the approximately two years they lived in the same city, they had probably missed each other only by a few seconds.
She entered the okiya. Not feeling sleepy at all, she walked around the main floor, searching for something to busy herself with. That's how she entered abruptly one of the rooms to witness, once again, Yumi having her little fun with Mr. Wrong.
"Excuse me," she mumbled distractedly, while Yumi was trying to regain some decency, fear showing in her eyes. She expected to see Tokio yell once more and knew that this time, she would be kicked out of the okiya for sure. But she was surprised to see that Tokio was simply walking away, a frown marking her delicate forehead.
"What... what is that suppose to mean?" was the question Yumi asked after a long silence.
She got no satisfying answer from Shishio, who was more interested in spending some time alone with her than analysing geishas' behaviours. The truth was that not even Tokio really knew the answer at the time she left the room. She had acknowledged their presence without really registering the situation, too lost in her thoughts to focus about the present.
Tokio's feet mechanically led her to her room and once inside, she suddenly got an idea. If she had thought about it for a few hours before acting upon it, like you normally should, maybe she would have realised that this plan could lead directly to disaster. But due to her current state of mind, Tokio didn't take the time to think. Instead, her feet mechanically led her back to the room where she had seen Yumi and Shishio and she opened the door abruptly.
"I have a deal to offer."
Shishio raised an eyebrow, the words melodious to his hear. He was visibly about to leave the room, probably at Yumi's insistence - after all it was easier to pretend that you weren't with your lover if he wasn't in the building - but stopped in his course.
"What deal?" he asked back, while Yumi silently observed the exchange.
"If the rumours are true you are a hitokiri. There is someone I want dead. I'll forget about what I just saw in this room if, within a week, the man in question leaves this world for good."
"Hmm... I see. But there is nothing for me in that deal."
As he started walking toward the door again, Tokio's mind worked at full speed.
"I do have money."
"You're starting to speak my language..."
"What money?" asked Yumi, frowning. But no one paid attention to her.
"How much do you want?" Tokio went on.
"How much do you have?"
"I'll soon inherit the whole okiya. Masako is not getting younger. Visibly, it's only a matter of weeks. At most, a few months. The kimono collection alone is worth a fortune..."
Shishio took a few moments to ponder the pros and cons, but finally decided.
"I don't trust your word. I want concrete proof of your good will."
Tokio hesitated for a long while. She was trying to search for a solution, and she could only see one. She looked at Yumi, at Shishio and at Yumi again. She then, partially regretful, declared.
"You don't trust me, but you trust Yumi?"
"Yes."
"Then, I'll ask Masako to change a few things. At her death, the house will go to Yumi. Masako won't protest, for she's too tired to protest. You'll have everything you want."
"What!" exclaimed Yumi in total disbelief and with so much strength that Tokio felt the need to explain.
"Nothing is more important than to see my family honour being restored right now. I would rather kill myself than endure this longer than necessary. I would even kill the man myself if I could handle a sword. So right now, I don't really care about the stupid house."
"It's interesting," was Shishio's reply. "If you can obtain information about the man's whereabouts and if everything is arranged with... Masako first, then you can be assured that twenty-four hours after I receive the signal, the man will be dead meat."
"It's fine with me. We have a deal."
"And who is my target, may I ask?"
"A member of the tenth division of the Shisengumi. My father..."
To be continued...
Notes:
Review replies can be found, as always, on my website.
Special thanks to Firuze Khanume who kindly offer me her comments, and to EEevee who did a wonderful job with the grammar check. Thanks to you both.
À la prochaine!
Mary-Ann