Disclaimer: I do NOT own PMK or its characters.

An Assassin's Tale

Chapter 6

"Yamazaki-kun, I have an itty-bitty favour to ask of you…" The ninja kept his face blank of any expression when he was greeted by the sight of a not-so-cheerful Okita outside his room in the morning. Much, much later, he found himself wondering what the heck was he doing accompanying the first unit captain on a stroll in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Kyoto. Well, he couldn't possibly let Okita go alone, unarmed, as was his usual practice. Having one of their leading swordsmen fall victim to the violent crime so rampant in this part of town was not going to be very good for the Shinsengumi.

"Well, here's the place the man known as Fatso used to run, but he hasn't been seen in years." They stopped in front of a building.

Okita squinted at the rundown building that housed the infamous Yogotoya in the noonday sun. It stood tucked away in a hidden corner of Shimabara. It was badly in need of repairs. As if to emphasize the point, the faded signboard actually fell, narrowly missing them by inches. It looked nasty.

"Shall we leave, Okita-san?" Yamazaki shot him a questioning look, one of the many he gave him since they started out. Okita hesitated. He did not tell Yamazaki his reasons for his curious request for information on Fatso and the ninja had the courtesy not to ask. This was too personal even for Hijikata or Kondo to know of. Before Souji could reply, tired-looking woman came out of the building.

"Finally back, eh?" Osu snapped bad-temperedly at Souji.

"Eh?" Okita Souji gave a look of bewilderment. Osu squinted for a closer look. "Sumimasen, mistook you for someone else," she dismissed him with a snort, picked up the fallen sign and propped it up by the doorway.

"Sumimasen. I am looking for someone…" Okita ventured.

"Too early, sir. My boys are still asleep from last night…" Osu replied tartly. Then she saw his companion.

"Hey, ninja boy!" Susumu's eyebrow twitched at the retired kunoichi's greeting. As if being harassed by a pack of kunoichi isn't enough, the Grandma of them all has to want a piece of the action too. "Why don't I rustle up a room for you to see to your buddy's needs?"

Okita waved his arms. "No, no, I'm not here for that… I am looking for my brother, Akira…" Okita stared his feet, unable to meet the woman's eyes. "I've been looking for him for years… please…"

"Oh really? There ain't no Akira hereabouts. Not since Tomura Akira got himself killed. Made a mess on the street falling from the third-floor balcony," Osu crackled with sadistic delight at the memory of a competitor meeting his end, with a little timely assistance.

"We're twins. Akira and me. We look alike…" Souji tried again. Maybe Akira went by another name.

"I know. I'm not blind. Took your sweet time, didn't ya? He's gone. Packed up his stuff and stormed out like the little ingrate he is. Before you ask, I don't know who he's taken up with."

"Don't you dare speak of my brother that way!" Okita growled. "What do you know?"

"What do I know? Listen here, you pampered jackass. What do you know what it takes for a kid to survive in this place? To feed himself, keep warm and avoid getting killed? You proud samurai scumbags don't see that, don't you? Too busy dyeing the streets red. War orphans, kids with no one to care for them… the wild oats sown in the pleasure houses and whose mothers are too stupid to poison them or choke them at birth. Where do they wind up? You tell me!" Osu replied harshly.

"The orphanages?" Souji replied weakly. He felt sick.

"Only the lucky ones. The slave trade's full of the rest, as are places like these," Osu swept her arm, indicating the entire Shimabara red-light district.

"But you are running this p-place," Souji tried a final stab.

"Sure, and all my whores are male. I never could stand choking babies," she shot him a parting glare. His last chance at finding Akira vanished as the woman disappeared into her establishment. "Okita-san, it is best we return to HQ." Yamazaki prompted. No word of this outing must be breathed to anyone else.

"Souji, your cough bothering you?" Hijikata asked gruffly. Okita had been looking decidedly glum since he returned from his morning walk. "Maybe some of my cough medicine will help." Okita waved aside Hijikata's offer with a slight smile. Change the topic…

"Hijikata-san, you slept in today. Some party last night?" Okita forced himself to sound interested and cheerful.

"You bet!" Kondo guffawed from nearby. "Toshi and Sasaki nearly had a showdown in the back alley after Toshi tried making out with Sasaki's woman."

"I did not. I went out for a breather and she came after me," Hijikata scowled. "I have better taste than Sasaki, you know."

"Hai, hai, every time you try making out in the back alley, something happens, right?" Kondo guffawed at their private joke. Hijikata's back-alley escapades were the joke of Tama. Who can forget the time young Toshi got caught with his neighbour's girl by the night watchman, on the eve of her wedding to the local tofu maker? Or the time he and his date from the medicine store witnessed a murder… whatever it was, he and his lady often wound up spending the rest of the outing in the local police office assisting investigations.

This job was starting to stink, Kichi thought as he danced the dance he learned at Yogotoya. His lodgings were in a creepy, rundown mansion crammed full of Creepy Ninja's spells and other dubious items. Strange sounds and shadows lurked in the dim corridors. His Lordship is a painted weirdo. Surely no one else would wear that ridiculous outfit. Still, one has to be polite…

"What does your Lordship wish to see? Do you wish to see blood spilled? Or do you wish to have fun with me? I can make both happen…"

"Oi, you're being vulgar," a warning hiss from Furube the ninja and Kichi backed down. The lord was looking at him with an intense interest. Oh boy, and Kichi thought he was through with that stuff. "We have just the job for someone as bloodthirsty as you…" Kichi almost let out a sigh of relief. Did he really like killing that much? To be honest, he enjoyed it much more than his other profession. Enjoyed the control it gave him over others, enjoyed the thrill of killing…

Smiling a cold reptilian smile befitting an assassin, he listened carefully to his orders…

Impersonate Okita Souji and discredit the Shinsengumi… Easy enough. Going solo was not so difficult. Kichi wondered why he had taken so long to strike out on his own. Maybe in a twisted way, he enjoyed Osu's constant heckling and the certainty of having a roof over his head and regular if sometimes meagre meals. So long as he was capable of drawing in customers, Osu would never throw anyone out of Yogotoya. Old Fatso used to throw any whore unfortunate enough to fall ill into the streets to beg. Come to think of it, Osu has never thrown anyone out yet. Damn! He missed that old hag.

With a sound between a sigh and a growl, Kichisaburo curled up in his futon and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Akira!" He was running down the maze of alleys that were familiar yet alien to him. Run, run, running until it felt that his lungs would burst from the effort. There was the blowfish sign from his childhood and the rainbow pinwheels. It was dark. He found himself standing in front of the gay brothel in Shimabara. "Akira?" A little form was huddled in the doorway, the exact image of Okita Souji at age eight, except this crying child was bruised, starved and grimy.

"Akira, it's alright…" Instinctively, he reached his hands to the sobbing child. "Brother's found you…"

"Don't touch me! You're not my brother! I hate you!" Childish hands pushed his away…. He was falling… falling…

"Akira!" Panting heavily, Souji sat up in his bed. It was a nightmare. I hate you! The words were still ringing painfully in his ears. Oh kami…Fate seemed to be thwarting him at every turn. Perhaps it was really beyond help. He had been so close… Now he had no idea where his brother was.

Author's notes:

Hijikata's back alley adventures seem to be disasters (Grin). The incident about he and the girl from the medicine store is taken from the Tama chapter in PMK vol 5. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. Since I had received so many requests to let the brothers be reunited, I may let them meet up after the fire. Osu got a bit of time to show more of her character. I think she will show up again later.