Hiya. No, I don't deserve any credit for what people consider a very big plot twist. That was stuff I made up back in May or June yet. I'm just running on autopilot right now, just holding the joystick, only filling up holes. If this chapter is short, that is because there was only a few lines and paragraphs of old drafts to use, a big hole left to fill, and no will anymore to imagine. I am truly sorry. The next chapter, as planned out, will be longer, and hopefully more interesting.
Thanks a lot for still reading. As it is I have already lost some of the people who used to review this story, with good reason. I just read through Nekotsuki's Snowblind, and realized just how far I've fallen.
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"Myoujin Yahiko, you are arrested for committing the Midnight Murders."
"WHAT?"
"There is no use resisting, you rascal," the policeman said as another cuffed him. "Several witnesses saw you running that evening, with a drawn sword, from the direction where the murders were committed."
"You're mistaken! I did NOT kill anyone that night! I swear!" Yahiko shouted to all who could hear. "I haven't killed anyone in my life!"
"Save your words for the judge," the policeman answered.
"But I don't have money for a lawyer!" the young man exclaimed.
"All the worse for you." Yahiko was pushed into the back of the police carriage.
"YOU HAVE THE WRONG PERSON! I AM INNOCENT!" he kept shouting and screaming.
Even the Himuras tried to talk the police out of taking him. After all, they insisted, he had helped in some assignments with Kenshin previously. But the chief among them insisted that they take him for questioning.
On the way to the precinct, he kept silent. It was something he learned in his younger days as a petty thief. The less he said, the less there was to use to incriminate him further.
But since he was the one that got caught, evidently Jiro was still free and out of reach. Maybe that was good, and maybe that was bad. He still wished the Tenken would not come back, but he did pray that something would happen to prove his innocence.
He dropped his head. If he didn't get out soon – worse, if he were executed – what would happen to Tsubame? How would it look if she married someone who had been jailed?
This was bad.
At the precinct, he told the officers the events of that terrible evening as closely as he remembered them, and kept insisting on his innocence. He was grilled. Questions were repeated over and over. He even told them about Seta – he had made a promise not to tell Tsubame only, after all. He no longer cared if he looked like a coward before the assembled group. He just wanted to prove he did not do it.
"But we only have your word against those of many others," the arresting officer said.
"But I am telling the truth! Ask Kenshin! Ask Kaoru!" he pleaded.
"You can get them to support your alibi!" the officer said.
He knew it would be useless to say the Himuras were not like that. "Ask….ask Seta! He'll tell you!"
"What will Seta-san tell us, aye?" the officer sneered. He motioned to the guards, who cuffed him. "Maybe a night in prison will calm you a bit."
"I'm telling you, I DID NOT DO IT!" Yahiko shouted again as he was dragged into a cell. "Why won't you believe me!"
"Why should we believe a street rat?"
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Kenshin waved down a rickshaw at the main avenue and told Tsubame to get on. He ran to the precinct himself. Both managed to arrive at the front desk half an hour after Yahiko was brought to the precinct. Neither was allowed to hear or see the quick procedures before he was carried to the back of the building, to the holding cells.
"I will vouch for the young man," he said, "He was already at our house before midnight, and he stayed there. It is impossible that he committed the murders."
"We know your reputation among us and with Fujita-san, sir," the officer at the front desk said. "However, we have to stay objective in this case. We know the young man is close to you, so we cannot discount the probability that you are lying for him. Five people are already dead, and three of them are well-known businessmen. The newspapers will not be merciful if they know we have a bias toward the suspect."
"But surely we may have our say when the case is formally investigated and tried?" he asked again.
"Yes, sir. But it will be your word and the young man's word, against many witnesses."
"We will take what we can get. Also, have you heard anything about…."
Tsubame tugged at Kenshin, and shook her head, warning him not to proceed.
"Yes, sir?" the officer had taken out a new piece of paper then looked up at him.
"Well, a friend of hers has been missing lately, male, about this tall," Kenshin continued and gave the height.
The officer chuckled. "Maybe he has just spent too much time at the pleasure quarter…."
At this, Tsubame furiously shook her head, as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I apologize, young lady, that was uncalled-for," the officer said and faced Kenshin. "Name and description of missing person?"
Tsubame shook her head again. "Yuan-san said…"
"This tall, medium build, short hair around his face," Kenshin still said. "He is known as Jiro." Tsubame looked at him with fright. "Allow me to talk with this Yuan-san, should any problems arise, Tsubame-dono. But the police already have to be informed."
"That nice courier fellow is missing?" the officer suddenly stopped writing. "Oh, no! The area around Tokyo is currently dangerous to messengers! Thank you for telling us, we will see to it that he is brought back safely."
Kenshin bowed in gratitude. "Could we see Myoujin-san, at least, before we leave?"
"I am sorry, Himura-san. We have to settle everything first. You can visit him tomorrow."
Both were silent as they walked home to the Kamiya dojo. It was the end of a long and trying day, one they did not see coming when it started. She no longer knew what to worry about first or more importantly. She no longer knew how to feel.
The redhaired man offered a seat at the front porch to the young lady. She sat silently for a few moments, and looked at the setting sun. He went in, and then returned with two cups of tea. She took one of them and sipped it in silence, as he sat beside her, also silent. She returned the cup with a short bow, and he took both cups away.
It was only when he returned and sat beside her again, when the tears started to fall in two steady streams.
"I don't know what to do," she sobbed. "They're both in trouble, and I don't know how to help either one of them. I want to comfort them, just be with them. But I know that if I do, I would hurt them, too."
"You do not want to talk to me about this, Tsubame-dono," Kenshin quietly said. "I can call Kaoru-dono……"
She shook her head and wiped her cheeks. "Tae-nee-san will tell me that Yahiko can handle it. Kaoru-san will tell me that Yahiko has been a friend to me longer. They don't understand! They're both my friends, my closest friends." A few new tears streamed down her cheeks and fell on her lap. "I don't want to lose Yahiko…….Jiro……I don't……"
Kenshin saw Kaoru pass by from the side of the house. He raised a finger to gain her attention, moved his head to point Tsubame, and looked at his wife earnestly. She looked at the young woman with her husband, and nodded once. He mouthed his thanks, as she went on to the kitchen. Having gotten his wife's permission, he slowly placed an arm around her shoulders, and drew her closer. He let her lean on him, as the tears kept flowing down. He stroked her tear-soaked hands, and just held her.
She cried and cried. She poured out her love…love that, for now, she did not know whom to give. In the arms of the man who was almost her father for many years, she gained comfort. It could not be Tae, or Kaoru, or any of her other friends. It had to be him. He knew about hurting, and being hurt. And so she allowed him to hold her gently, until the sun had set and colored the sky in a sad sort of orange.
"I am not the best person to ask about matters of the heart, Tsubame-dono," Kenshin finally said, as he stroked her hair. "So, I will not tell you to do this or that. Just do what your heart tells you to do, and hope for the best. That is all I can think of to say."
"You are not taking Yahiko's side?" she sniffed.
"It is not a matter of taking sides, Tsubame-dono, but finding out the truth. I will do everything to get him out, because I know he did no wrong. I will also see what I can do about finding Soujirou, because I want to know what really happened. Both of them deserve to the chance to be heard. The chance you gave Yahiko many years ago, and the chance you gave me."
She nodded, and gave him a hug.
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I'm not sure if it came across, but Kenshin is not telling Tsubame what he knows from Yahiko's end. I have run out of material for the holidays. I saved stuff in my USB storage device only until this far to type at home. The next chapter will be out after the new year, when I get back to my dorm computer.
Maeko-nohara: Thanks for the support. I'll stay at the half-state for a while, though. Junyortrakr: Thanks for getting it. There is a point to that, don't worry. Lily of the Shadow: Like I said, there is a point to all this. Thanks for placing me on story alerts. Aikida: Having a story but not having the imagination to fix it properly is annoying. Thanks for liking Yutarou's entrance. The words don't come anymore for long descriptions, really sorry. Skenshingumi: Thanks for liking. Guesses will be resolved eventually.