Author-chan's notes: Hey everyone! I was getting kind of stuck on "Like Father Like Son" and "A Clean Slate", so I decided to work a bit on "The PBKB Club". Don't worry; I'll crack down on my bigger projects as soon as I can get the creative juices flowing for them again. Sheesh, "Yin and Yang" has been on my shelf for awhile. I need to breathe life into it before someone kills me…
Here's the next chapter!
Key:
"Talking"
'Thinking'
/Telepathy/
Letter
qpqpqpqp scene change
The PBKB Club
(Chapter Two: Comes Life, Sort Of)
A few minutes after the Ishin Shishi fled…
Shiro Yukio awoke to the sound of voices and a pounding headache. The voices that surrounded him were unfamiliar and Yukio could only hope that they were allies not enemies.
"What an idiot, thinking he could hold off Battousai-san on his own," one of the mysterious voices scoffed.
"Don't be so cruel, you thought you could too," a second voice scolded, "And look what happened to you!"
"Shut up!"
"He was a lucky one. A direct hit from a Sou Ryu Sen!" another voice said in awe, "I only got a regular battoujutsu."
"Yeah, all the ladies will be all over him, the lucky dog."
"Uh…" Yukio groaned, trying to sit up.
"Hey, he's waking up!"
There was a brief scuffling sound, and then Yukio felt arms lifting him up.
"You alright?" the voice of the person holding him asked kindly.
"I think so," Yukio murmured, keeping his eyes closed to ward off the dizziness.
"You don't look alright, kid," said one of the voices from earlier.
"Oh, come on, Takumi!" another one of the earlier voices laughed, "He just took a direct hit from Battousai-san! Of course he doesn't look alright!"
"EH?" Yukio yelped, his eyes opening wide and pushing away from the arms that were holding him…
…Only to fall flat face-down on the ground.
"You shouldn't move around too fast, kid," the one called Takumi cautioned, "You're no longer as you were; it takes some getting used to."
"Kami-sama," Yukio murmured as he struggled to get up on his own, "I have to get back to my unit. I have to warn them. I have to warn them about the Ishin Shishi and Battousai!"
"You'll do no such thing," Takumi's stern voice ordered, "It's against the rules!"
"Like hell!" Yukio snarled, turning his head to look up at the speaker…
…Only to come face to face with a footless, disemboweled Mimiwarigumi member.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Yukio yelped, scrambling away from the dead samurai, "G-ghost!"
"So what of it?" another voice asked. Yukio turned wide eyes at a head…a floating head…a head that was unattached to the body carrying it in its arms…
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Yukio screamed again, his eyes darting around the alley. Everywhere he looked, there were ghosts!
"W-what do y-y-you want with m-m-me?" Yukio shivered, "P-please. I'm just a normal man. I-I ha-haven't done anything to be h-haunted."
"Don't be ridiculous, kiddo," the beheaded ghost laughed, "We've already got people to haunt. 'Sides, why would we haunt you?"
"Then why are you here?" Yukio asked.
"We're here as your welcoming party!" one of the other ghosts said cheerfully, "As the newest member of our club, we wanted to come congratulate you?"
"Wait!" Yukio yelped, "Club?"
"The PBKB Club," another ghost explained, "And thanks to Battou-chan's Sou Ryu Sen just now, you got yourself a one-way ticket to our club."
"I never wanted to be part of a club!" Yukio protested, trying not to be freaked out at how the ghost had called the most fearsome hitokiri in Kyoto Battou-chan, "And what would a living person like me do in a club filled with ghosts?"
"Who said you were a living person?"
Yukio gasped and looked down.
There was a huge hole in his chest, as if he had been carved open. A broken rib poked out of the cavity, its blaring whiteness a stark contrast to the crimson red of his blood. And his feet were no where to be seen.
"Welcome to the PBKB Club, kid," the disemboweled Mimiwari named Takumi smirked, "Welcome to the ranks of the 'Poor Bastards Killed by Battousai'."
qpqpqpqp
Back with the Shinsengumi patrols
The second and third Shinsengumi patrols marched rapidly down the street heading toward the secret exit of the Akabara inn. One Hara Jiro, of the second patrol, walked alongside his two superiors, Nakagura Shinpachi and Saito Hajime, giving them directions.
"Damn it, Jiro, you sure about this?" Nakagura asked his inferior.
"Positive, sir," Jiro nodded, his normally smiling face completely serious for once, "Yukio would never lie about something like this."
"Shimatta," Nakagura swore, "It definitely explains some things. The Ishin Shishi would never meet in anywhere unless there was backdoor, the cowards."
"Or if they had Battousai with them," Saito added.
'The demon hitokiri?' Jiro thought in shock, 'Damn it, Yukio will never be able to hold that thing off!
"Turn this way!" Jiro ordered as they reached the place Yukio had described to them. The units approached the alley, they swords drawn.
"We're too late…" Nakagura whispered as they turned the corner.
Lying in a pool of its own fluids was the broken body of Shiro Yukio.
"Yukio!" Jiro cried out, rushing over to his friend's body, "Yukio! Yukio, you idiot, wake up!"
Jiro started shaking the bleeding body, not caring whether or not blood stained his own clothing.
"It's no use," Nakagura said quietly, putting a consoling hand on Jiro's shoulder, "He's gone."
"He can't be!" Jiro protested, his mouth suddenly starting to babble nonsense, "H-he can't be dead! He only celebrated his nineteenth birthday yesterday! Hell, I was going to take him out drinking to celebrate today since yesterday we were on patrol late! His girl, Chiaki was supposed to meeting tomorrow! And, and!"
"Shut up, Hara," Saito said coldly, cutting off the weeping swordsman, "See that slash on his chest? That came from a battoujutsu, from Battousai. Shiro is dead. Deal with it."
"But he can't be…" Jiro cried, "Damn it, Yukio, you weren't supposed to die!"
qpqpqpqp
Yukio watched the entire scene, tears running down his own cheeks. It was…unnerving…to see his best friend crying over his body.
"I'm here, Jiro!" Yukio called out, reaching for his friend, "I'm here! I'm –"
"Keeping quiet, if you know what's good for you," a ghostly voice hissed, as a hand slammed over his mouth.
"Hmphhmm!" Yukio protested as he tried to get out of the other ghost's hold.
"Yukio-san," Takumi sighed as the disemboweled Mimiwarigumi member came into view, "It's unwise to get so riled up. You might accidentally appear in front of all your living ex-comrades. You could get in trouble. It's against the rules."
Yukio could only struggle feebly as he watched the rest of the patrol help up a sobbing Jiro and carry his body away. Tears ran down his transparent cheeks as he watched Jiro give the alley one backwards glance before turning away.
The patrol slowly exited the alley until only one was left: Saito Hajime, the third captain of the Shinsengumi.
"You really were an ahou, Shiro," Saito said casually to the air as he turned to face the congregation of ghosts, his amber eyes, eyes not quite the same shade of Battousai's, staring straight into Yukio's brown ones.
"Hello, Saito-san!" the beheaded samurai among the ghosts greeted the Shinsengumi captain cheerfully, "A pleasure to see you again!"
"Kaito," Saito sneered at the beheaded ghost, "And the rest of the PBKB Club. I suppose Shiro here is now among your ranks?"
"You got it!" Kaito's head chirped from the circle of its body's arms, "He'll make a fine addition, ne?"
"Hn," Saito grunted as he turned away, "Make sure Shiro learns the ropes. We can't have him accidentally playing poltergeist at Shinsengumi Headquarters. Or Ishin Shishi Headquarters for that matter."
"Righty-o, Saito!" Kaito saluted (or at least the best he could in his condition).
"S-Saito-gumi-chou?" Yukio sputtered as soon as he was free from being held, "What's going on?"
"What does it look like, Shiro?" Saito snorted at his former underling, "You're dead. Simple as that."
And with that being said, the captain strode off into the night.
"B-but why was Saito-gumi-chou so –"
"–comfortable?" Takumi supplied, "Saito-san has a special ability he doesn't normally like sharing. He's a spirit medium. He can see us ghosts and talk with us as if we were living beings. He's been like that for awhile now, so he's used to it."
"Saito-san is so versatile," Kaito added, smiling cheerfully, "He can see dead people with his eyes, banish dead people to the Spirit World with his ofuda and prayer beads, and he can make dead people with his katana!"
"That joke is getting old, Kaito," Takumi sighed.
The rest of the PBKB nodded their heads as Yukio looked on, confused.
Then, unable to handle the pressure and the oddness around him, Yukio retched.
qpqpqpqp
Elsewhere in Kyoto, later that night
Yoshikuni Chiaki was humming to herself while brushing her hair. She knew that she should be asleep by this hour, but something was keeping her up: a sense of forbidding.
But in these times, who didn't feel worried, especially at night?
"Yukio-kun," Chiaki sighed as she put down the brush. She was worried about her beloved. She had no idea what Shiro Yukio did for a living, causing her to worry. She prayed with all her heart that he was a simple shopkeeper or craftsman…heaven forbid if he was a swordsman or a fighter in this day and age! She prayed for his safety constantly, hoping that her worries were unneeded.
Fidgeting a bit, Chiaki decided to take a small walk around the inn she was staying in. Why did she feel so restless? Quickly wrapping a shawl around her shoulders, Chiaki walked out of her room, padding down the hallway silently.
Chiaki had to admit the inn that she lived and worked at was probably one of the safest places in all of Kyoto. Nearly all of their patrons were strong fighters, and most of them were honorable enough not to take advantage of a serving girl. And the rough ones were quickly taught their place by her "younger brother".
Of course her younger brother wasn't really her brother, but rather one of the patrons. He was a sweet boy, very shy. She had no romantic interest in him, unlike her sister serving girls. She had Yukio-kun, and besides, the patron was more like an innocent sibling that need protecting.
A lot of protecting. She prayed for his safety just as much as she prayed for Yukio's.
Heading down to the main entrance of the inn, Chiaki's eyes widened when she noticed a group of men approaching, but relaxed when she recognized them.
She had forgotten. They had gone out tonight despite the curfew that the shogunate imposed.
"Yoshikuni-san," the leader of the group greeted, "It's good to be back."
"Is anyone hurt?" Chiaki asked worriedly, but sighed in relief when the leader shook his head, "Was there a fight?"
"Only one," one of the other men answered, stepping forward, "I took care of it." Chiaki looked up to see her "younger brother".
"Shinsengumi, right?" Chiaki sighed, taking in the blood stains on her "sibling's" clothing, "I worry that one day you're going to get killed, Himura-chan."
"You shouldn't worry so much about me, Chi-nee-san," Himura Battousai sighed, using the nickname she insisted upon, "We're back at headquarters in one piece, ne?"
Chiaki had no choice but nodded, still confused at why she felt so worried.
'Yukio-kun, I need to see you tomorrow,' Chiaki thought to herself as the men headed back to their rooms, 'I need to know that you're safe…"
Author-chan's notes: And a little bit of the old PBKB Club humor starts to peak in, but still very angsty. Shudders
First appearance by Chiaki, Yukio's girlfriend from Chapter 1. Yes, she is a serving girl at the Ishin Shishi headquarters. She has no idea of Yukio's life in the Shinsengumi, and he has no idea that she's Ishin. And she only views Kenshin as a little brother. (Kenshin is always thought of as Ken-nii, so I thought it would be nice if he was thought of as the "younger brother" this time.)
Next Chapter: Funeral Rites