Disclaimer: I do NOT own PMK or its characters.
Minor cameo by someone from RK in this chapter.
An Assassin's Tale
Chapter 8
"You shouldn't. Kino-nee will get angry." Soujirou warned in a whisper as Akira secretly tied the dangling end of their sister's obi to a roadside stall while she flitted obliviously with a young man. A few well-place snips with a scissors completed the prank before Soujirou wrested it from his grasp. Too late. To his delight, when Kino started to walk away, the loosened obi knot came undone. Her screams sounded through the marketplace as she tried to salvage her ruined outfit.
"You little brat!" Holding her outfit together with one hand, she turned on them. Soujirou was holding the scissors and her rage immediately fell on him. He turned away, unable to watch as she yanked Soujirou's ear hard.
A severed head on a bench in the marketplace. His head? No, Soujirou's. Executed for treason and murder…
Kichi awoke with a start. His master still had an arm thrown carelessly over his waist. Gently so not to wake him, Kichi wriggled free of the arm and out of the rumpled sheets. He hurriedly dressed and fled to his own room. He must be losing it.
What happened between him and his new master's just another business transaction like the countless many he had done since he entered that trade. There were no feelings involved. No reason for him to feel anything. Kichisaburo's the biggest whore on this side of the pleasure quarters, old Fatso used to say. Fatso slapped that name onto him for a want of a better name to call him rather than boy or brat or worse.
Soujirou… his twin brother… is probably sitting in some cell waiting to be executed…
Kichi steadied himself. There was more work to be done. He couldn't show any weakness. The rules of the game he played were unchanged. A weak assassin, like a sick whore, was a liability. If they thought he was weak, he'd be out in the streets turning tricks… if he were lucky, Osu might take him back. But even Osu would never use him as an assassin again.
Hijikata awoke to something warm under him and soft breathing in his ear. A woman? Had he fallen asleep in Shimabara? As the sleep left his eyes… "Souji? What the hell are you doing in my futon?"
Okita yawned. "Mou, I tried to go back to my room but you wouldn't let me." He pressed a hand gently against Hijikata's chest.
Hijikata rolled off him. Okita sat up sleepily. "You know, I think it is time for the pigs' early feeding…"
"You have something on your mind, right?"
"Iie, nothing on my mind at all…" Souji flashed a broad grin before skipping out. Hijikata groaned and went back to sleep for a couple of minutes before awaking to the sound of Sasaki's men barging into the compound.
"Care to explain the outrage committed by your man on the Mimawarigumi?" Sasaki glowered at the Shinsengumi chief and vice-chief. He considered it a big concession to actually have the culprit brought before a tribunal instead of dispensing instant justice for his men. "Your statement regarding Okita's alibi is very weak, Hijikata… perhaps you might want to reconsider your interests…"
"Sasaki, with all due respect, my colleague has no reason…" Kondo leapt to his friend's defence. The representative of the tribunal silenced him with a wave of his hand.
"Hijikata Toshizou, are you prepared to swear that your statement is true?" The penalty for lying is seppuku.
"Yes. Okita was in my room for the greater part of last night. He only left for a short while before Sasaki's men came. The page can be his witness as to his whereabouts during that time." Hijikata's eyes wandered over to where they were marching Okita in. Thankfully, he did not appear to be roughed up in any way.
"What were you doing last night, Okita Souji?"
"Giving Hijikata-san a massage in his room," Okita replied without batting an eyelid.
"All night?"
"Well, I was sitting on top of him at first, then he rolled over on top of me and we fell asleep that way… I can't leave for my room since he's a lot heavier than me… until he rolled off…" The representative shot a quick look at the somewhat effeminate-looking Okita and a grim-faced Hijikata. "Do you wish me to elaborate further on my activities at the time of the alleged attack?" Okita asked innocently.
"It wouldn't be necessary," the representative coughed uncomfortably. Whatever Kyoto peacekeepers do with each other in the privacy of their chambers is something not for the records.
"Someone has been masquerading as Captain Okita and tarnishing our reputation. Rest assured we will catch this culprit and hand him over to you," Hijikata almost growled at Sasaki.
In the end, Kichi had to know. He sneaked out of the mansion wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat to hide his face. The murders were the talk of the town. A certain Shinsengumi captain had been taken into custody and was being questioned in a heavily-guarded building. His feelings were mixed when he saw Okita leaving the said building with the Shinsengumi leaders. He went back to the mansion.
An impatient Furube was waiting to brief him on the next assignment. He saw the carefully prepared disguise laid out in his room. A Shinsengumi uniform. The mission was daring and insolent. Sneak into the Yagi compound and kill one of the men, didn't matter who, just do it and leave the place in an uproar.
Who should he choose? Some random recruit? Kichi pondered that question as he forced himself to eat his already cold breakfast.
No. Too insignificant to raise an uproar. How about one of the captains? Harada's a spearman. His skills against a sword ought to lousy. No challenge in that. Besides, he did provide a little entertainment for him a couple of nights back. There were other captains…
Osu had specifically warned him against one captain. Furube had brought up that person's name during the briefing. Saitou Hajime was dangerous. No opponent of his has lived to speak of it. Saitou would be away during his attack.
Perhaps Captain Okita… Kichi closed his eyes. Souji would be so surprised to see him alive and well. The blow will be swift and unexpected. Maybe he ought not to kill Souji outright. Keep him alive long enough to tell him of all the horrors his little brother endured in those lost years…. It'd hurt Souji more than any wound. Souji would probably beg for forgiveness and Kichi will only laugh at him as he lay dying…
Kichi's losing it! Kichi snapped himself back to reality. Okita would not be in the compound during his infiltration. That was why his attack would be timed then. His feelings were getting the better of him. A face was floating into his mind. His next target: Shinsengumi vice-chief Hijikata Toshizou.
In a strange way, that same callous man who ignored a young boy's plea for help one long ago night in Edo was concerned about Okita Souji. Their relationship was brotherly, to put it mildly. Kichi knew that from the occasions he had glimpsed them together in the streets. Souji behaved like a wilful child about Hijikata, forever demanding to bought candy or some other trinket…
It made Kichi sick to see them happy, Hijikata smiling slightly and Okita often bursting into laughter…
Other times, Souji would appear to be stifling a cough and Hijikata would hover nearby like a concerned mother hen….
How would the brave Okita Souji look when he's crying? Kichi decided on his target. Hijikata better be in.
Okita Souji was bothered. People have heard the rumours and were avoiding him like the plague. The young woman at the corner candy shop seemed to be on the verge of a fit when Okita trotted up for candy. The other customer, a mother, grabbed her children roughly and dashed out of the store as if she had seen a demon. The frightened children wailed. In the end, Okita left without buying.
The reception at Umeya was cool. The waitresses cast nervous looks his way as they crept discreetly into the kitchen. Here comes Captain Okita Souji, mad serial killer. Let's hope he is 'normal' for now… he could almost imagine them whispering. His good pal Kenni was there. With his usual courtesy, Kenni greeted him and measured out the selected sweets.
"Kenni-kun, have you heard of the rumours?"
"What rumours?"
"A captain of the Shinsengumi attacking a Mimawarigumi patrol. It must be all over town by now."
"Gee. I must have missed it. Just got back today. Out of town on some family business," Kenni lied smoothly. Katsura-san had some business out of town and Battousai felt obliged to accompany his master. "I am surprised with their chiefs railing at each other, it took so long to happen."
"Kenni, if everyone suspects you of doing something you did not, what will you do? How would you tell them the truth?"
"Nothing, Sou. If I didn't do it, my conscience is clear. People will always believe what they will. You can't do anything to change that." Kenni looked down at his feet, suddenly ashamed for lying to Sou about his true identity. Maybe someday, when this was all over, he would tell his friend Sou about the truth. It'd be up to Sou whether to continue with their friendship after that deception.
"See you round then," Sou bade a hasty goodbye. He needed to go for his evening patrol soon.
His conscience was clear as Kenni so wisely put it. Still… Whispers, secret looks given as he led his men on patrol… he was sick of it. How he wished his patrol would end….
"Hotaru-san?" Okita noticed the girl trying to make a hasty but clumsy escape. "Eh?" Hotaru all but fell down in shock at Okita's voice.
Author's Notes:
Kichi's one very conflicted individual in this chapter. So's Okita and even Kenni (aka Battousai). Bakumatsu Kyoto's so full of angst, neh?