MadiSano: Hi, people! Chapter six! Yatta! Nothing to say here except that...well...that there's nothing to say!
Disclaimer: WHO OWNS KENSHIN? ...Not me, that's for sure. (Watsuki-sensei rules!)
CHAPTER SIX: FALLEN WIND
"Yeah, I'm Sagara Sanosuke," Zanza answered, nodding at Yami, who had just introduced himself.
"Pleased to meet you, Sano-kun," Yami said, bowing.
Kasumi was in the kitchen, and the two men were talking outside of it. By the aromas floating from the room, Sanosuke could tell she was almost done.
"Um, Yami," Sanosuke whispered to the dark samurai. "Kasumi's a great cook and all, but ya have to watch what ya say and do, otherwise she'll beat you down with her ninjutsu chains—I know from experience. Jou-chan can be a downright b—"
WHACK. "SAGARA SANOSUKE! WHAT'RE YOU SAYING TO YAMI-SAN!"
"DAMMIT! NOTHING!" Zanza yelled, as Kasumi removed a frying pan from his face.
Kasumi narrowed her eyes. "IT SURE SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING! YOU WERE ABOUT TO CALL ME A FOUL NAME!"
"Was not!" Sanosuke cried in defense.
"Prove it!" Kasumi screeched.
Yami stood amid this; fascinated at how they could consistently fight like so, and how Kasumi didn't show the slightest fear of the formidable Fighter. She had, in fact, moments ago, smacked him in the nose with a frying pan. It was improper, but…for some reason, Yami admired her for her aggressiveness.
The argument raged on.
"I mighta been about to say something else that began with a B!" Sanosuke yowled, massaging his reddening nose.
Kasumi scowled. "Yeah right! What else is there?"
A second later, she wished she hadn't said that. "Oh," Zanza made a list. "Like: bozo, brat, bimbo, babe, bother, butthead—"
WHACK.
"YOU'RE THE BUTTHEAD!" Kasumi yelled, abandoning her frying pan and pummeling Sanosuke with her fists.
"Ow! Ouch! Ow! Uh! Hey! Stop it!" Zanza yelped, struggling to stumble out of Kasumi's reach. Attempting to make her leave, he cried, "Hey, do I smell somethin' burning?"
Kasumi momentarily paused in her rage, gasping. Then her fury returned and she awarded Zanza with her iron-hard right fist, right in the cheek. "Nice try! Everything's already cooked, moron!"
"THEN WHY IN HELL ARE YOU WASTING TIME HITTING ME!"
Kasumi calmed herself down, and gave Sanosuke an evil smile in which he so hated. "I think maybe I'll only give Yami-san my food. 'Bad' boys don't get breakfast," she added, referring to Zanza's Aku.
"Huh? No fair!" he whined, following Yami and Kasumi into the eating room.
"Then you have to do dishes," Kasumi said.
Sanosuke folded his arms in irritation. "I don't know how to do dishes. I'm a man; ya know…" he droned. "So, no…"
Kasumi grabbed the front of his jacket and glared at him eye-to-eye. "You're gonna do dishes if I say you're gonna do dishes," she hissed at him, and when he nodded in fright, she released him.
After eating, Yami approached Zanza about his message. Saying what he had to Kasumi the night before, he therefore waited for a reaction from Sanosuke.
The boy was quiet for a minute, and then he looked at the thin, dark man with serious and grim eyes. "Where is my Zanbatou?"
Yami blinked. "I am not a part of this. I am just a messenger. That is all." Sighing, he continued. "I have been told that your weapon is being held hostage by a man in power."
"Meiji?" Zanza growled, rage broiling up inside of him as the image of a handsome black-haired man flashed through his mind.
"No, he does not exactly have a position within the government. But, he did work to build Meiji." Yami said. "His name is Toshiro Seiji, and he has his own estate, and own forms of power. As you know, today's government is weak and fragile; there are many forces pressing it in different directions. This particular man, Seiji, wishes to bring Tokyo underground under his power. Then, most of the crime factions would be under control."
Zanza cocked an eyebrow. "And I come in all of this, how…?"
"Seiji has heard of you and your hold over downtown Tokyo, and of how the yakuza and criminals fear your name. He wants to meet with you the day after tomorrow, and trade your Zanbatou for your alliance." Yami's face contorted his worry. "But, when relating the message to me, he hinted that he might become violent if you refuse…"
Sanosuke swore, his eyes stained with anger. He clenched his fists. "Damned patriots! If I don't go, they'll destroy my Zanbatou, and come after me…but then, why…" Suddenly, comprehension dawned on Zanza's face.
He turned around to look at Kasumi, who had succumbed to doing to doing the dishes herself. She looked up, wondering why he was staring at her.
"Jou-Chan…" he said, using his newly devised nickname for her. "Who hired you to attack me?"
"Ah?" Yami said, confused. He didn't know Kasumi was a Fighter-For-Hire as well as Sanosuke.
Kasumi sat back and thought for a moment. "Well, I know he was pretty rich because he gave me all the money. I can't quite remember his name…and, as you know, Sagara, it's not a Fighter's job to get sociable with employers."
"Did he have any special requests for how ya took me down?" Sanosuke pestered.
Kasumi's face began to match Zanza's. "He wanted me to beat you unconscious and…oh, no." She was now realizing what Zanza had. "He knew I wouldn't be able to carry you and your weapon to a safe place. That man saw I wouldn't kill you, and that I would take you to be healed…he stole your Zanbatou!"
She stood right up, marching next to Zanza and grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. "C'mon, Sagara! We'll go see him right now and give him the beating of his life!"
"No," Sanosuke said, to Kasumi's surprise. "I'll go in two days like he said…and Yami's coming with me, too." He gave Yami a look that dared him to contradict.
"I have no objection," Yami replied to Zanza's satisfaction.
Kasumi put her hands on her hips. "But I'm coming too, of course."
"No," Yami and Zanza replied at the same time. Yami said, "I could not forgive myself if you were hurt, Kasumi-san."
"Yeah," Sanosuke growled. "I didn't take that damned poison dart for nothing. You're gonna stay here."
The girl looked at her two best friends in disbelief. "You're overprotecting me because I'm a woman!" she howled in outrage. "I beat the crap out of Sagara, so why—"
"You are staying here, Kasumi," Zanza said stiffly, giving her a look that meant he was extremely serious.
When Kasumi looked at Yami for hope, she was disappointed. "Sano-kun is right, Kasumi-san. You will stay here, where it is safe."
Kasumi looked at the floor, her hands crunching into fists. "But that's not fair…" she whispered.
Afraid she was going to cry, Sanosuke attempted to cheer her up. "C'mon, Jou-Chan, ya won't be missing out on much. We're just gonna go and talk to him. I doubt we'll fight at all."
Kasumi gave him a look. "If you're not going to fight, Sagara, then why can't I go?"
Sanosuke's face looked comically trapped. "Uh…" he switched back to Zanza mode, and he smirked slightly. "Because if ya go, you'll probably scare Seiji to death before we learn the location of my Zanbatou."
"Don't joke," Kasumi said, her voice cracking, to Yami and Sanosuke's horror. "You think I'm weak because I'm a girl, and now you won't let me come with you to protect Sagara. He's my friend, too…"
Sanosuke was touched when Kasumi called him her friend, and that she wanted to protect him. He looked at Yami, who shared his expression. They couldn't take much more of this—they'd submit if much more occurred.
Kasumi continued, her voice growing more high-pitched and cracking more often as she spoke. "If you really think I'm so useless, you should come right out and tell me…" Suddenly, she broke down into sobs.
Sanosuke and Yami were at either side of her in an instant, trying to make her stop and to comfort her.
"Ah! Kasumi-san, please, do not cry!" Yami sputtered, looking frantic as he held Kasumi's hand for emphasis. "Crying will not help, and I do not like seeing you wilt like a vanquished cherry tree! Please, calm down! I am sorry! Do not cry!"
Sanosuke was no calmer. Wide-eyed and trying just as fervently to soothe Kasumi's tears, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Jou-chan! Don't cry…! What the heck are ya cryin' about? The Kasumi I know wouldn't give into tears so quickly! C'mon, Jou-chan—dang, you're still cryin'…Missy, come on, it's okay…If… if you stop cryin'…"
"If you stop crying," Yami was saying at the same time as Sanosuke. "You can go!"
Kasumi's tears slowed slightly and she looked up at them with her watery blue eyes. "R-really?" she stammered, with a hiccup. "I c-can go…?"
"Yes," Yami said insistently.
"If ya don't annoy me to the point that I change my mind," Sanosuke added, and received a serenely exasperated look from Yami.
Kasumi hiccupped again, and Yami and Sanosuke looked at each other with guilt. She gave them her most pleading look and held out her hands palm-up to both of them. "Promise…?" she asked softly, sticking out her bottom lip in a pleading way.
They put their hands atop of hers, and said, "We promise."
As soon as the words had left their lips, Kasumi had removed her hands and attacked Yami in a hug. He made a small squeak of protest, but it was drowned out when Kasumi purred, "Thank you, Yami-san."
When freeing the severely shook-up samurai, she turned to Sanosuke. They looked at each other skeptically for a minute, considering whether or not they'd like to hug as well. Then they both turned away, saying, "Nah…"
Suddenly, spotting Kasumi's abruptly happy mood, Zanza yelled, "KASUMI! You planned that out!"
Kasumi smirked. "A promise is a promise," she cackled, laughing at their lack of caution. "You're so gullible."
She laughed her head off as she went back inside, leaving Yami and Sanosuke out on the porch, flabbergasted.
Yami slightly smiled at her behavior, but Zanza was completely ticked. "You know," he said to Yami. "I think I'm getting to understand how black cats feel, according to them westerners. We're enslaved to a witch."
Frying Pan then met Bird Beak.
Kasumi was walking home from shopping. Yami had said earlier that he needed to visit the graveyard nearby, and Sanosuke wouldn't move from his sleeping place. So, Kasumi, in desperate need of tofu, went out herself.
It had been a day since Yami's revelation of Zanza's 'partner', and tomorrow the three of them were going to set out to meet up with Seiji.
It was getting late. Yami was probably back from his visit, and Sanosuke…might be awake. If Zanza was, he was probably whining about how Kasumi wasn't back yet and how hungry he was.
Kasumi was deep in thought about her guests. Sanosuke was a good friend, she had decided, though a complete jerk at times. He also seemed to attract frying pans, too. Over the days, he had forgiven Kasumi of her victory over him, and acted as though it never happened. Kasumi had kept her promise to him, and didn't say a word about Captain Sagara or the Sekihou Army to anyone. Sanosuke also kept mum about her childhood.
Yami, on the other hand, was near to a complete mystery. Though both the Meiji and Tokuguwa had broken her own heart, Kasumi had never met anyone who became utterly depressed because of it. Zanza, she had come to understand, became a Fight Merchant to hide and soothe his pain and anger in his own way.
Why did I become a Fighter-for-Hire, then? Kasumi wondered as she continued her way through the darkening roads. I may hate the Shogunate, and despise the Meiji, but… Maybe I did so to gain money? Is that it?
Like she always had before she met Sagara, Kasumi wore her cape with her chains beneath it. No one suspected her—she looked like a normal girl wearing a coat to shield her from the chill winds. Kasumi kept her hood down as well, so not to attract suspicion from those who she had fought before…and those who survived the afterglow.
Kasumi smiled at the thought of how large an argument was going to ensue when she arrived at home. Sanosuke was sure to be 'dying' of hunger, and might meet Kasumi's handy-dandy Rooster Whacker again. (Rooster WhackerKasumi's frying pan.)
Turning a corner, Kasumi was surprised that she had been wandering. She was nowhere near her house—in fact, Zanza's apartment lay in front of her now.
Why am I here? she wondered, frowning. Better hurry home. No more thinking until I get there and get dinner ready.
Turning around, she was surprised again to find that she had nearly collided into someone. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, looking up into the person's face. "I didn't mean…" Kasumi's safeguard went on high. What was someone doing in Sagara's neighborhood, and happened to walk right behind me? This place isn't crowded at all!
"May I help you?" Kasumi asked in a firm voice, her arms disappearing inside her cloak.
The man did not reply, but instead made a grab for her arm. Kasumi immediately evaded the attack and punched the man with all her might, sending him stumbling backwards.
Kicking him with the tip of her shoe, the man was quickly knocked out.
"Gotcha," said a voice from behind her, and someone grabbed Kasumi's arms from behind. Someone had come up from behind her while she was fighting off the first.
Of all the stupid tricks to fall for! She thought angrily, attempting to get away. Kicking she tried to break away, but she couldn't get anywhere near the man as he bound her wrists and knocked her off her feet.
Kasumi looked up at the assailant with fear. The man narrowed his eyes, and said, "I'm here from Seiji-sama," he said, to Kasumi's horror. "He's asked me to abduct you and bring you to headquarters. You don't need to be scared or anything, we're not gonna do anything to you."
The words brought little comfort to Kasumi. How could she trust what he said? But she was immobile and couldn't do anything as the man bent over and hit her swiftly in the back of the neck, causing her to steadily lose consciousness. He then picked her up, not bothering to assist his unconscious aid, and carried her off into the unknown.
Her chains, cape, and basket of tofu were tossed in the bushes near Zanza's porch, barely concealed. They were the last things Kasumi saw as she fainted.
"Sa…no…"
"KAMI-SAMA! WHERE IS SHE!" came Sanosuke's outraged shout.
"I am not sure," Yami said calmly, though a trace of worry could be found on his narrow face. "But Kasumi-san has been gone a ridiculously long time."
"No kidding," Zanza growled. "And it's dark out, too. Jou-chan has her fighting chains with her, but…"
Yami looked at him pointedly. "If Kasumi-san defeated Tokyo's most powerful Fight Merchant, I think she can handle herself in a battle."
"Unless more than one attack," Zanza observed grimly. "Unless she has a weapon like mine, or some super-fast sword style, she can't do it. Jou-chan doesn't."
They were silent for a moment. The atmosphere was very quiet and stressed. They were silently begging that Kasumi would burst in through the door any second now…but she never came.
Zanza stood up, looking enraged. "That's it. I'm gonna go look for her."
"I will accompany you," Yami offered, and together they set out in search of their missing friend.
As they searched each and every alley, Zanza growled over and over again, "If someone's hurt her, I'm gonna kill him…I'm going to kill him…"
Yami also had his thoughts on what he would do when they found her. But he kept silent, and raised his eyes to the dark sky, sighing. He then continued the brisk but thorough search.
After searching the market, the Akabeko, and all between here and there, they finally entered Sanosuke's 'hood after an hour or so.
"Hey," Zanza said, appearing in an alleyway. Yami looked up, hoping he had found something. "C'mere."
Yami followed Sanosuke to the Fight Merchant's porch, and pointed into the bushes grimly. Kasumi's belongings had been tossed in there carelessly, and the tofu they were going to eat was strewn all over.
"I'll search my house," Zanza said to Yami. "You keep watch out here."
"Yes," Yami agreed, and Sagara entered his home.
Five minutes later, he emerged. "There was nothing," he said, shutting the door and joining Yami on the veranda. "Nothing out of place."
Yami noticed that Zanza had neither locked nor unlocked his front door. "Do you not get robbed? You left your door open."
"Who'd be stupid enough to rob my house?" Zanza snorted, jumping off the porch nonchalantly. Yami followed suit, silent.
"What could have happened to her?" Sanosuke sighed, feeling his brazenness melt away as all the horrible things that might have occurred to Kasumi flashed through his mind.
"Let us check her belongings," Yami said. "Maybe that will give us a lead."
They checked Kasumi's left behind materials, but found nothing. Yami held her red cloak and basket in his arms, while Zanza coiled up her fighting chains around his arm.
After another moment of worried silence, Yami spoke. "Then there is only one possible conclusion. Seiji has taken her hostage, along with your Zanbatou. Now we are trapped like forlorn mice, backed into a corner drenched with the forbidding shadow of the heartless feline who so desires blood and dominance…"
"I get it," Zanza snapped, giving Yami a venomous glower that made the samurai blink in surprise.
After a moment, Yami smiled sadly. "I know you are upset, as am I, Sano-kun. We will get back Kasumi-san tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises, yes?"
"How long does it take to get to Seiji's?" Sanosuke growled.
Yami replied, "Perhaps an hour."
"It's about midnight," Zanza said, beginning to walk back to Kasumi's house. "And the second that sun rises, I'm going to that damned patriot's house, and I am gonna get Kasumi back. He's crossed the line. He's gonna die."
Dictionary:
Kun—an add-on to someone's name (like san) that means a state of equality to the one who's speakingJou-chan: Literally "Little Miss." Originally derived from Sanosuke's nickname for Kaoru, he also applies it foremost to Kasumi.
Ninjutsu—Ninja style
Sama—an add-on to someone's name (like san) that means "lord" or "lady"
MadiSano: Who's got two reveiews? I do, that's who! LOL. Anyways, I was kinda thinking, for a change...um, well...my friends all agree with me that I should interfere with the course of this story by...well...PAIRINGS! evil laughter Yes, yes! I took a vote among my pals, and the results were: 6 votes for Sanosuke and Kasumi, and 2 for Yami and Kasumi...andone vote for Sanosuke and Yami...No comment on that.
My personal wee unimportant opinion? ...Sanosuke and Kasumi. Sorry. Megumi isn't around to steal the show, sooo...Anyways, if you want to tell me who YOU think should be struck by cupid, REVIEW! Reveiw, oh reader, and tell me what you think of Fallen Wind, and if you think there should be any pairings; and if so, what they are. But don't reveiw if you hate my story so much you'll make me cry. Then I'll get MAD.
And now I'm going to shut up. Okay? Okay.