Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Author's Note—Kenshin is a woman in this story.

18. Listen to the music at night

Himura had never been to a festival on her own before. She had accompanied Katsura as his bodyguard once before, failing to find any enjoyment in the festivities when there were so many opportunities for the rebel leader to be attacked in the crowds. Then she had been a swordsman, today she was only a normal girl.

She had taken care of her assassination duties the night before, informing Iizuka that she would be taking a day of leave and to postpone any other assignments until the day after. He had asked where she was going but she hadn't replied. Katsura was out of town, Iizuka was only a temporary replacement, she did not have to answer to him.

Okita was leaning against the rail of the bridge when she saw him. The bridge had become an unofficial meeting point for them; it was halfway between Mae's restaurant and their own destinations (that is, the Shinsengumi headquarters for Okita and the Ohagi Inn for Himura). He smiled and waved.

"Souji, sir," Himura greeted him.

"Formal as ever, Miss Himura," Okita said teasingly. They began walking together towards the main street where the festival would be centered at. "Have you been to this festival before?"

"No, it is my first time ever going to a festival."

"Really?" Okita asked in surprise. "Not even the festival on Girls Day?"

Himura shook her head, then turned away shyly as Okita's incredulous stare grew wider. How did he make her feel so embarrassed all the time?

"I can't believe that your parents never even took you to celebrate Girls Day," Okita said, toning down his shock to a wide grin.

"My parents died when I was very young," Himura said, "And my guardian didn't like coming into the city very often."

"Ah," Okita said, filing away the information. "My family encouraged me to study swordsmanship from when I was very little. I spent more time at the dojo than at home."

"Shishou was the same. He considered my apprenticeship more important than his guardianship," Himura nearly rolled her eyes thinking about Hiko.

"Apprenticeship in what?"

She nearly spoke the truth and said swordsmanship. "Pottery," she lied instead.

"How interesting, Miss Himura."

"That it is," she forced a partial smile. She didn't know that Okita was not fooled by it.

Never the less, they were able to enjoy the festival together. They admired the colorful paper decorations and Okita explained some of the games the children were playing when Himura asked about them. All was going well until Himura felt the familiar presence of her comrade. Her sharp eyes quickly picked him out of the crowd, standing by a booth selling wooden block prints. While Okita was distracted with a food stand Himura casually moved across the street to stand near Iizuka.

"Iizuka, what are you doing here?" Himura asked in a quiet tone, pretending to look at the prints.

"An urgent matter," Iizuka replied. He held a print of a famous actor out to her, a black envelope underneath. Himura took it, discreetly slipping the envelope into her sleeve.

"Can it wait until later?"

"No, it must be handled now. Katsura's orders."

Himura handed a few coins to the vendor to purchase the print. "I do not have my swords."

"I'll leave mine in the alley over there. You got an hour to take care of business," said Iizuka.

"I understand," Himura said, turning away. Iizuka headed off in the opposite direction. Himura crossed the crowded street and stopped at Okita's side.

"Souji?"

"Miss Himura, look, sweets!" Okita said, holding one up to her. Himura blinked at it. "Try one?"

"Ah, no thank you," she said with a faint smile. Okita shrugged and added it to his small basket where he was collecting the treats he planned on buying. Himura cleared her throat, "I just remembered something I have to take care of. I will try to return quickly, if that is all right..."

Okita gave her a considering look and Himura berated herself for not coming up with a decent excuse. "I'll wait by the bridge for you," he said, smiling.

Himura nodded, bowing shortly with a tentatively apologetic smile, and left him. She glanced back only to make sure he was distracted before she slipped into the alley Iizuka had indicated. A pair of swords was wedged between two crates, waiting for her. She tied them with a little difficulty to her obi. Then, hesitantly, she withdrew the black envelope from her sleeve and opened it.

Written in Katsura's precise and elegant calligraphy was the name of her next target: "Yukishiro Tomoe."

For a moment, Himura stared. Tomoe? That was a rather feminine name... A suspicion formed in Himura's mind that perhaps this was why it was such an urgent matter. She wasted no more time in useless thinking. Keeping to the alleys and backstreets, avoiding the main streets occupied by the festival goers, Himura headed towards the designated location where the target was supposed to be.

-

"Okita, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting. I thought you had patrol tonight, Saitou,"

"Hijikata changed the schedules again," said the taller man. Okita smiled faintly, knowing that the vice-captain's habit of changing the patrol rotations irked his friend.

They stood together on the bridge, looking out over the thin stream that weaved its way through the city. The sun was almost fully set, the red-orange and gold colors reminding Okita of Miss Himura. In the distance he could hear music playing, probably to accompany the street performers that were ending the night's festival with a short play.

"You have the midnight patrol," Saitou eventually said.

Okita was glad for the excuse. "I should get some sleep then. Are you heading back as well?"

Saitou nodded. He would have to find Hijikata and let him know that Okita would be taking his shift tonight. The things he did for Okita...

-

"Good work, Battousai," said the inspector, casually glancing at the woman's bloodied body lying on the ground.

"There is nothing good in death," Himura said coldly, staring at Yukishiro Tomoe with unreadable amber eyes.

The inspector shrugged uneasily and knelt by the body. He touched the throat lightly and felt no pulse. He left the note reading "Heaven's Justice" by her unmoving face and stood. "That's it. Will you be returning now as well?"

"No," Himura said simply. The inspector didn't question her and left quickly. Himura waited until she was sure he was gone before speaking again. "There is a restaurant nearby. If you can make it there, the owner, Miss Mae, will help you."

Tomoe took in a shallow breath, daring to open her eyes for the first time in several long minutes. "You would... spare me?" she said in a voice no louder than a whisper. The pain across her stomach burned inside her chest and made her legs feel weak.

"I cannot kill a defenseless woman," Himura confessed emotionlessly, looking away for the first time. Her eyes melted into a golden-blue hue.

"I will... remember... this, Battousai," Tomoe said as she struggled to sit up, clutching at her stomach. The blood was warm against her cold hands, making the pain only fractionally more tolerable. Silent tears dripped down her cheeks unnoticed.

"It will be better for you if you don't," Himura told her. She stayed no longer, leaving Yukishiro Tomoe to her fate.

As Himura again walked along the dark backroads and unused streets, this time to disguise the blood stains splashed across her pale kimono, she listened idly to the music from the festival. It was cheery and upbeat, with an underlying sadness that most would not detect unless they knew what to listen for; like Souji, she thought.

She did not return to the bridge where Souji was to wait by, nor did she return to the Ohagi Inn. Instead, Himura purchased some cheap sake from a half-blind merchant in a questionable neighborhood. She sat leaning against an old house, drinking the liquid and wondering why it tasted bitter and sweet at the same time.

Someone inside the house began playing a flute, softly and sadly. It was only then that Himura realized that the sake tasted like blood.

The sake abandoned, Himura returned to the Ishin Shishi headquarters.