Disclaimer: I do NOT own PMK or its characters.
Coming up: Kichi tries to hit on Hotaru. Kichi, where's your taste gone to? (Ducks kunai from Hotaru)
An Assassin's Tale
Chapter 7
It must be the strange incense they have been burning in the mansion, the odd bells and that chanting courtesy of that creepy ninja servant. When he saw a black cat dart through his room and out through a solid wall, Kichi was convinced he ought to take some time out to clear his head before he really goes mad from sharing living quarters with two weirdoes.
"Okita-sama!" The girl almost pounced on him. Once he got over his initial shock, he realized she was cute in a wide-eyed innocent way. She was obviously a girl in love, with Okita Souji… why does he have all the luck? She clearly mistook him for his twin. A naughty idea popped into Kichi's mind. Maybe his afternoon out wouldn't be a total waste. Well, it wasn't everyday that a cute girl practically threw herself at him. Those oriyan girls always charged high. Time to put his seduction skills to use. He's still got that hairpin in his sleeve…
"I was wondering why a kind person like Okita-sama would be in the Shinsengumi."
"Well, because I like to kill people. I like to see blood…" he replied. Hotaru gave a gasp of terror.
Okay, so the remark about blood didn't go down too well with her. Maybe decent girls don't like that kind of stuff. The oriyan girls always thought that was cool, even exciting. She did look very nice with the hairpin in her hair. She seems to like it. Score one. Now to attempt a kiss. No, too fast. She's not a prostitute. He must go slow with the seduction or risk scaring her off.
The conversation was not doing the trick. She's too nervous. Does she sense something amiss? Why does he bother what she thinks? Wait! She's making some excuse to go. Offer to walk her home…
Dammit! He cursed inside as Hotaru refusedhis offer to walk herhome and literally fled the scene. Oh well, he had to go back and prepare for tonight's big show.
Night time. Yagi compound…
"Okita, this is my final warning. I'm tired and I want to sleep. Get out from here before I kick your butt out…" Hijikata scowled as a very familiar figure pressed against him in the futon.
"Hijikata-san, I feel lonely tonight…"
He need not light the lamp to know who had crept into his room and beside him in the futon. The faint smell of medicine and candy was a giveaway. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through the younger man's long hair.
"Souji, you have to break this childish habit of yours… You are too old to snuggle with me or Kondo anymore."
"Please, just for tonight…On nights like this, I don't want to be alone in my room… Too empty… Kondo-san's still out…" Nights like this reminded him of his childhood before he lost his twin. He always needed company to cope. But Kondo and Hijikata need not know the true reason behind his loneliness.
"I thought that's why I allow you to keep your pig in there…"
"But Saizou's spending the night with his family…" Souji was climbing on top of him in the darkness. "You feel so tense. Maybe I can give you a massage in exchange for letting me sleep with you." His fingers were kneading the vice-chief's aching muscles.
Hijikata almost choked. "Talk and behaviour like this is why two-thirds of the men think we're involved…"
"I thought we are involved, Hijikata-san…" A stray hair brushed Hijikata's face.
"Not in that way, Souji!" Hijikata rolled over, pinning Okita to the futon.. "Now shut up and go to bed." And Hijikata promptly fell asleep.
"Hijikata-san?" The only reply was snoring. Souji tried wriggling out from under the older man's bulk and only succeeded to clearing a little space to breath and feel his toes. Oh well… "Oyasuminasai…" he whispered into Hijikata's ear before dozing off with Hijikata covering him like a blanket.
It was too easy. Kichi cut down the surprised men with unsuppressed glee. The attack was swift and deadly, partly because the dead men did not believe the Shinsengumi's Okita would challenge and actually kill them. Mimawarigumi, Shinsengumi… Kichi couldn't care less. At the very last minute, he remembered to leave a witness to 'Okita Souji's' deed. He stood, blood dripping off his drawn katana, admiring his handiwork. A good amount of blood had got onto him as well.
He was not alone. The carriage waited in the shadows. His Lordship was watching with a smile on his painted lips. Mission completed, Kichi walked up to him…
Author's Rant:
Does anyone honestly want to know what happened after that scene where Kichi gets in the carriage with his Lordship? Or are the fangirls able to make an educated guess on what happened next? Okita Souji's alibi is looking watertight, no? Tophrase Hijikata-san's words: "Okita was with me the whole of last night, in my room."