If you're out there, Conspirator, GOOOOMEEEEN NAAAASAAIIII YOOOOO! I only just realised that some the wording I used in my last few chapters were very similar to some things you said in 'Descent into Madness'. I never meant for that to happen, and I only noticed it a few nights ago when I re-read your story and spotted the words. I guess there are only so many ways you can word something, as anyone who's written a goddamn english essay would know, but I had no idea that my wording was so similar to yours. Aww… I feel bad now… I'll just post up the next chapter, shall I?
… crap – I just realised that the next chapter has another similarity… bugger…
Mibun - Identity
After the tumult had died down, and Okami had ushered Miyuki and Aya out of the room, Kenko asked Ikumatsu if she had any appointments later that night.
"No… why do you ask?" the older woman asked, looking into Kenko's dull grey eyes.
Suddenly wishing she hadn't asked, Kenko managed to hide any embarrassment from her face as she asked, "Well… I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the bar tonight. If it is to your liking," she added, a slightly dark look returning to her features, "I could… wear this kimono…"
"Ah – you would!" Ikumatsu clapped her hands together, starling the girl, "That's great! We'll go at sunset, ne? Oh, and I know what we can celebrate." Seeing the confused look now on the girl's face, she continued, "Katsura is coming back tomorrow with a few more men. I daresay he'll be surprised to see you wearing a kimono."
"Who says I'll be wearing a kimono tomorrow…" Kenko muttered to herself while the older woman left the room. Once the shoji had been slid shut, she turned to the pile of clothes on the ground and started folding them up. When she got to the gi, she fished around in the sleeve until she found the black envelope for that night.
'What am I doing, drinking with someone before an assignment?' she scolded herself, placing the envelope into her kimono sleeve. 'Is it because I felt more at ease when I drank with her last night? Why should I think of my own comforts when I'm about to end someone's life?'
Turning to the door, she thought about telling Ikumatsu that she had changed her mind. But she remembered how happy the woman had looked, and so decided that she would just sit it out. Also, she didn't feel up to leaving her room when she was dressed as she was. Sitting down on the windowsill, she leaned against the frame, and waited until she became relaxed enough to sleep.
Finding she was unable to, she frowned as she realised why. She slowly reached out for her katana, and rested it on her shoulder. With dark thoughts on her mind, she slowly fell asleep.
The sunlight falling from a low angle across her face did not cause Kenko's eyes to open from her dreams, but instead it was the rumbling of overhead clouds, warning that the city would be drenched in one way if not another. As she stirred, she thought over the dreams she had. For once, they were not the bloody images from her assignments, but memories from happier times, from when her friend Souma was still alive. Thinking about the images now that she was awake, an uncomfortable feeling rose in her throat. A frown crossed her face. What was happening to her? Was she getting sick? Trying to swallow, she found it painful.
Before she could worry over it anymore, a soft knocking on her door broke her out of her thoughts. "Himura-chan?" a voiced called out, "Are you ready?"
"H… hai…" Kenko managed to get out, rubbing her throat. While the shoji slid open to reveal Ikumatsu standing behind it, she slowly stood up from the windowsill and brushed out the creases from her lap. Setting down her katana, she looked over to the older woman and blinked. Ikumatsu was wearing a white kimono tied with a dark blue obi, with a dark red sash folded over at the front. She looked quite beautiful in it.
She smiled when she saw the girl's eyes evaluating her appearance. "It is nice, isn't it? I daresay you're developing a taste for kimonos." Her smile widened when the predictable scowl showed after the last comment. Stepping closer, she took out her makeup box from her sleeve to check up on Kenko's face, when she noticed the troubled look that floated in her dull eyes. "Himura-chan… what's wrong?"
"Eh?" Kenko blinked, then looked away. "Uh… I think I may be becoming sick…"
"Oh?" Ikumatsu took hold of the girl's chin and tilted her face towards her. "Why do you think that?"
"When I woke up, I was thinking over what I was dreaming, and a prickly feeling grew in my throat." The frown reappearing on her face, she added, " I tried swallowing, but it made it feel worse…"
"Well…" the older woman looked straight into her eyes, "What where you dreaming about? One of your assignments?"
"No… it… I was thinking about Souma-kun…"
A rueful look took over Ikumatsu's face as she let go of the girl's chin. "Oh, Himura-chan…" Taking another look at her face, she decided not to follow up the subject at the moment – Kenko wouldn't take it well if she became visibly upset in front of someone without knowing why. Such emotions were foreign to her, these days. "Well, let's get going now, ne? Perhaps after a drink or two, that lump will go away…" Taking hold of the girl's arm, she gently steered her towards the door.
A young man with deep black eyes sat at a table in a bar, staring at the empty bottles of sake in front of him. For the past week, he had been coming to this bar, drowning the misery of his failure and losses. He had been in Kyoto for over two weeks, and had found out nothing, except for the rumors the Bakufu soldiers would whisper. Frowning, he emptied the cup in front of him, and proceeded to fill it up again.
"Irrasshaimase!" It was then that two women came in from the street, holding closed umbrellas by their sides. They were both dressed in plain but elegant kimonos, and the taller woman seemed to hold the grace of a geisha. The smaller one, however, had the strangest coloured hair. It was the colour of dark ground cherries, but as it framed the fierce eyes that glared at any man who rested their gaze for too long, it could possibly be compared to the colour of blood.
As the two women went past him, he could hear the older woman complain lightly, "Really, Himura-chan, you could at least try and act like a girl when you're dressed as such."
"And let those fools treat us like whores?" the younger girl murmured coldly before they took the seat behind him.
After a few moments, a waitress came up to their table. "Konban wa, what would you like to drink?" The friendly-sounding woman asked.
Before Ikumatsu could answer, Kenko answered, "A bottle of chilled sake… please."
Eyes widening slightly, the older woman hesitated when asked for her choice. "Ah… warm sake, thank you…" As the waitress walked away, she leant across the table. "Chilled sake? … You're not working tonight, are you?"
Kenko calmly looked into her eyes. "I am."
A frown crossed Ikumatsu's powdered face. "Then… why did you invite me here? You always drink alone on these nights… shikashi, come to think of it, we drank together yesterday too, and later that night you…"
"I invited you here tonight to thank you for this kimono," was the calm reply. "The reason I drank with you yesterday was because I thought you were leaving that night, and since I had longer than usual to prepare…" Finishing her explanation, she turned to watch the men on the other side of the bar drink themselves silly. "And… I found that last time, I… I felt calmer when I left… after drinking with someone," she added quietly, turning back to her companion.
While the two women looked at each other, the waitress came over with their drinks. After they were set down and the woman had left, Ikumatsu watched the Ishin Shishi's hitokiri calmly pour herself some sake and drink it. There seemed to be no sign of thought on what she was going to be doing late that night. Except for the slight golden tinge in her eyes.
Outside, the dark heavens finally cracked, and the rain started to seep through. Refilling her cup, Kenko looked up to see the older woman staring straight at her with a sorrowful look on her face. Sighing inwardly, she picked up the warm bottle and filled up her sake cup for her. "Matsu-san, please don't worry yourself about me. Just try and enjoy your sake."
Ikumatsu sighed weakly. "You should try and do that yourself sometime." With that, she picked up the cup and downed it in one gulp.
Picking up her own, Kenko looked into the reflective surface, staring at her scar barely visible to her eyes under Ikumatsu's makeup.
The Ama no Gawa shone in the midnight sky, and reflected in the river below it. A man with a white cape stood by the bank, peering into a large cup of sake.
"Spring brings cherry blossoms to comfort you. The starry skies in Summer, the harvest moon in Autumn, and in Winter comes the powdered snow. All of these things, and the promise of them, is what makes sake taste so good. If it ever tastes bad, that's proof that there's something ill inside you." Pausing, he took a sip from his cup, and looked over his shoulder. "One day, you'll learn how to taste it, then we'll enjoy it together."
Behind him, a girl with red hair nodded, and turned her violet eyes to the heavens, gazing at the moon.
'Ill, huh…' she mused quietly, closing her dull eyes, 'Maybe that's true. Trust Master to be right…' Lifting the cup to her lips, she also finished her drink in one gulp, and set it down silently onto the table. Hearing a noise of distress coming from her companion, her eyes snapped open to see a nervous look on her face. Following her gaze, she saw two burly men with red noses swaggering towards them, sake bottles in hand. She turned back to her empty cup, watching them through the corner of her eye.
"Hey there, ladies," The slimmer man drawled, "Fancy another drink with us?" Ikumatsu looked away, a disgusted front plastered on her face, and Kenko did not look up to acknowledge their presence.
The bearded man's face grew dark and slammed his sake bottle on the table, knocking the others over. Ikumatsu tried not to look nervous, while Kenko still did not move. "We are Aizu patriots! Day and night we risk our lives for the common people! Drinking with us is the least you could do to offer your thanks!" He bellowed. The bar quieted down at the outburst.
A quiet voice came up from behind the curtain of red hair. "Aizu is on the Bakufu's side, idiot…"
"What was that!" The bearded man yelled, his hand flying to the sword on his belt. A deathly silence fell over the entire bar. The Aizu man smirked down at the girl. "Yeah, that's right – shut up. You're lucky I didn't draw my sword, jou-chan, or you may have lost your pretty little head."
"You're lucky as well," Was the cold reply, "Or you may have been greeted by a demon later on."
"Wha…?" The slimmer man stared down at the red-haired girl in front of them. How could someone that pretty sound so… evil? His friend, however, did not pick up on the threat.
"I thought I told you to shut up!" The drunkard yelled as his hand tightened around his katana's hilt. He moved to draw, but found it was stuck. Looking down, he saw a small hand pushing against the hilt. Following the arm up to the girl's face, he froze. The blazing amber eyes that glared back at him narrowed.
"I'm sure you've heard of the hitokiri that stalks the Bakufu supporters during the dark of the night," she whispered, only loud enough for those close enough to hear. Behind her, two black eyes widened slightly. "He also does not take kindly to false patriots. The violence is only to get worse, and Kyoto is no place for people like you. If you value your lives, you should run back home to the countryside…"
The silence enveloping the bar grew heavier as a staring match pursued. However, it was short lived, as the bearded man looked away hastily, unable to stay strong under the girl's glare. He grunted to his companion, and they both stormed out of the bar.
The bar suddenly erupted with murmuring. After a few moments, Kenko slowly stood up, fishing around in her sleeve for money.
"Himura-chan… that was… extremely…" Ikumatsu started as a few loose coins were placed on the table, an apprehensive look on her face.
Kenko picked up the sabre umbrella she had brought, and faced the older woman. "Thank you for the company, Matsu-san. I must get ready now." With that she swept out of the bar, two black eyes watching her.
Sighing, Ikumatsu looked down at her empty sake cup, and refilled it. While she did so, she listened into the conversations being held around her, and became slightly nervous. What was Himura thinking, using her Battousai persona to threaten those men? She could have blown her cover so easily if the other men could have heard her! A frown appearing on her face, she quickly finished the cup in her hands.
She was so absorbed in her worries that she did not notice the man wearing a purple uwagi in front of her also place change on the table, pick up his lone katana and leave the bar.
"Here she comes now, that bitch…" The bearded man growled as he glanced around the corner he and his friend crouched in a dark alley. A figure had left the bar and was opening up an umbrella.
"Matte yo…" The other man hissed, "I dunno… that girl's eyes…"
"What about them?" His friend asked, slowly pulling his katana out of its scabbard.
"They say that the Battousai is a demon in human form, right? What… what if it could change that form as well?"
"Are you trying to say that that girl is the Battousai?" The bearded man's laugh sounded forced. "Then we should call her Hitokiri Battouko, instead!" (1) Seeing the figure was now slowly approaching them, their light footsteps making no noise to greet them, the men became quiet.
"Excuse me," A voice even colder than the girl had used growled behind them. Spinning around, they saw a tall man dressed entirely in black, with a cloth mask covering his lower face glaring down at them. In his hands he held two swords, joined together by a long chain. His eyes were filled with death, and seemed to smirk down at them. "But you're in my way."
Pausing outside the door of the bar, Kenko opened up her umbrella. It was a very peculiar one, and one that many Choushuu men had found useful. Built into the arm was a short sabre – a cheap-to-make blade – that could be drawn out of it as if the umbrella was a scabbard.
She was halfway down the road, passing several old men who were taking shelter outside a closed shop, when strangled screams filled the air. "Sounds like the Battousai demon is out there tonight, jou-chan," one man said as she stopped walking. "You'll want to get home quickly, now."
"Aa…" Kenko mused, her grip tightening on the base of the umbrella, where the sabre's handle rested. Resuming her slow walk, she searched the darkness with her eyes, her fingers changing their grip. Soon, the smell of blood invaded her senses, and in no time she was drawn to the site of the carnage.
A faint noise sounded in the air, and in an instant Kenko shot to the left, dislodging the sabre blade from its wooden shaft. A spilt second later, a katana sailed through the air, stabbing through the umbrella's cloth to where she had been standing, and tearing through the umbrella's arm.
"Who are you?" Kenko called out, watching as the chain attached to the katana's hilt was jerked, bringing the sword back to where it came from. And out of those shadows advanced a man, cloaked in black.
"Sou ka… you're an assassin, like me…" she concluded, amber eyes flashing as she slowly stood up straight. She received no reply besides a blade shooting towards her neck. She easily blocked it, the blade sailing away to her left before it was jerked back towards the man to land nearby.
Turning her attention back to her attacker, she stared back into equally fierce eyes as he forced his other sword upon her. When he spoke, the rancour in his voice sent a chill down her back. "I will have your head, Hitokiri Battou…" The man paused, and smirked under his mask. "Battouko…"
Notes:
Battouko – as explained before, the '-sai' part of 'Battousai' was an old suffix for nicknames. In female names, the suffix 'ko' is often added (at least, it used to. Lately – ie the last 10-20 years, it's become popular to name a girl without a suffix, and sometimes only writing the name in hiragana). This is why the man thinks of this nickname for Kenko. (yeah… it's not that good… oh well)
Translations:
Irrasshaimase – welcome (used in restaurants etc)
Konban wa – good evening
Shikashi – however, although
Ama no Gawa – translates as 'River of Stars', the Milky Way
Jou-chan – missy, lady
Uwagi – coat
Matte yo – wait a minute (yo is a particle used for emphasis)
Sou ka – I see/is that so? (ka – as mentioned before – is used to indicate a question)