« Souji. » I called behind the wood panel.
« Come in, Hajime-kun ! » he answered and I slid the shoji open.
Souji and Haruhi were playing with paper puppets on their fingers. I could see that they did them themselves and with the hairstyles and kimono color of their characters, I could see quite easily where their inspiration came from.
« Souji. I need you to come with me. » I said, ignoring their puppets « I believe you will find this rather entertaining. »
« Ara, really ? » he replied with a wry smirk « wait a second, I need to ask permission. »
He lifted his finger with on it, a small puppet with a black kimono and a side ponytail.
« Fukuchô. » he asked, mimicking a deep toneless voice « can Okita-san assist me if you don't need him this afternoon ? »
« Alright. » replied Haruhi, chuckling with a puppet with furrowed brows and long black hair tied in a high ponytail « you can go but I'm gonna pout and frown about it all day long because it's the only thing I ever do ! »
« Haruhi ! » I scolded, shocked by her lack of respect towards the vice commander.
« Thank you, Fukuchô. » said Souji, still with the toneless deep voice, and he bent his finger several times to make my puppet bow deeply « I love you Fukuchô. I live to serve you, Fukuchô. Let me kiss you, Fukuchô. »
« Souji. » I sighed « Don't encourage her... »
Haruhi chuckled some more. There was a puppet for all the captains and also other characters like Matsumoto-sensei, Kondou-san, Sen, Chizuru, Kimigiku and a very ugly one with the Tokugawa emblem on his kimono that I supposed was lord Yoshinobu. Such lack of respect was unforgivable. Sannan and Heisuke weren't there but that wasn't surprising. Haruhi didn't know about the Rasetsu. She saw the both of them once at a meeting but that's all. I'm not even sure she realized they were Shinsengumi members.
« Okay, Hajime-kun ! » said Souji, speaking to me with the little puppet representing himself. « I can't resist entertainment ! Let's go ! »
« Can I come ? » asked Haruhi with a wide smile.
« No. » I said in a harsh voice. « You stay here. »
« But it's boring to stay alone ! » she complained, crossing her arms. « And you said it'll be fun ! »
« You stay in this room or you go play in the courtyard but I don't want to see you in the lower levels of the castle otherwise, you'll be severely punished. »
She frowned some more and I could already see that she wasn't going to listen to that order. Damn, Souji had a bad influence on her...
« If you practice your moves and that this evening or the days after, you manage to surprise me and touch me with your bokken, I'll get you a wakizashi. » I said as a diversion.
« Really ?! » she yelled, excited.
« Really. » I nodded.
« Okay ! » she agreed, storming out to practice.
Alone with Souji, I turned to him. « Let's go. »
I started walking and he followed, his arms still crossed.
« What could be so entertaining but that Haruhi cannot witness ? » he asked, faking a process of deep reflexion. « Who did you catch ? »
I opened the door of the bathroom where I attached and gagged Kaoru, naked on the floor.
« Chizuru ?! » gasped Souji before looking better « with a... »
« It's Chizuru's brother. » I explained « Chizuru never set foot in that castle. »
« Really ? » he asked « damn, that pretty boy fooled everyone... So, what's the plan ? »
« I need answers. » I said in a sharp voice and I saw Kaoru's eyes widen in fear « he's an Oni like Chizuru so I thought we could have a bit of fun and test his healing abilities. »
That time, it was Souji's turn to widen his eyes.
« Ara... This is so not you, Hajime-kun... » he smirked « You killed and tortured before but never have I heard you say it was fun... You were hiding a very dark side under your mask... »
I didn't answer but he was right. I killed before. I tortured before. But I did it by duty. Never had I thought that I could enjoy myself doing it. But for Kaoru, I could make an exception and let go a bit of the tight leash restraining my most despicable side.
I could have done it myself. I didn't need Souji. But there were a few things I was fearing : not being able to hurt him because he had Chizuru's face, losing control and killing him, and surrendering to the thirst as soon as his blood started pouring.
« Before we start, Souji. » I said « I am a Rasetsu. »
« And when were you planning on telling me ?! » he yelled, vexed.
« I'm telling you now. » I sighed « If I lose control, I'd be honored to have the Sword of The Shinsengumi sending me to the afterlife. »
Souji paused for a second and smiled genuinely to me.
« Count on me. » he said and I nodded, happy to know that he would do his duty. « But don't you think it would be better for you to step out ? »
« I'd rather watch. » I said firmly.
« Don't take it personally, Hajime-kun, but if you turn into a mad Rasetsu during my entertainment, you'll spoil the fun. » he smirked. « You know you can count on me, I'm not letting him die. And he heals ! It's even easier. »
« Alright. » I said after a moment of silence during which I thought about the possible scenarios.
Souji's protests were only logical. Plus, if I were to turn into a mad Rasetsu, he would probably have trouble stopping me with his decaying body. I beat him quite easily the previous time already. And with Kondou-san and his shoulder, Sen, Haruhi... I could provoke a rampage without anyone to stop me.
We both turned to Kaoru who was pathetically trying to wiggle like a worm to escape, but my bindings were tights, I made sure of it.
« Do we ungag him ? » asked Souji. « It'll be easier for him to answer questions. »
As much as I wanted to hear his screams, I wasn't keen on drawing unwanted attention to the bathroom. I specifically chose this room because it would be easier to clean off the blood when we would be finished and so, be more discreet.
« Not yet. » I said « let's give him a few minutes of reflexion first. »
Souji unsheathed his sword and looked at Kaoru with a sadistic grin.
« Meet reflexion. » he chuckled, showing his blade to Kaoru who started crying.
« Souji. » I stopped him as he was walking towards Kaoru « Only cuts that we are sure can heal for the moment. We don't want to kill him. »
« I know, I know... » he replied with a smirk « How many minutes of reflexion do you want ? »
« Until he loses consciousness. Let's see what kind of man he is. » I answered, stepping out. « Wake him up with a bucket and come find me. »
I closed the shoji and waited for the first sounds. When I heard his first muffled screams of pain, they sounded like music to my ear. He deserved to endure everything Souji was doing to him and Souji was deserving of a bit of recreation too. It was a win-win situation.
I looked at the small window and saw Haruhi practicing conscientiously in the courtyard. From there, she couldn't hear, see or smell anything, and she was enjoying herself with innocence, completely oblivious to the horrors and untold suffering her father and uncle were causing to a boy just a few steps away.
A few seconds later, I started to smell the delicious smell that was Kaoru's blood and I got away quickly before my instincts took over me, leaving Souji to play that delicate musical instrument that was pain.